Spiced Poached Pear Crumble

Poached in spiced cider and white wine, this beautiful pear crumble is an absolute easy and satisfying winter dessert! 

Have you guys tried poaching pears before? This was my first attempt and I am not sure why it took me so long. Poaching a pear is simple and they are the closest thing to bliss as I have come across recently! What’s poaching? It is gently simmering fruit in liquid. The traditional liquid for poaching pears is wine and sugar mixture, but you can get creative with your flavors and spices of your liquid like I did here with apple cider and white wine.

There is just something about the soft fragrance of poached pears that makes me swoon at the simplicity and delicacy of this lovely fruit. This spiced poached pear crumble starts with poaching ripe but firm Anjou pears in a spiced cider liquid with white wine. The poached pears are then baked on top of an oat-nut crumble to give you a crunchy, sweet dessert. It just screams winter and a scoop of ice cream will be perfect with this.

Don’t let all the pumpkin and apples keep you away from one of fall’s delicious finds. Pears are at their peak right now and all 10 varieties are being harvested so grab a few soon and start enjoying them. Don’t forget poaching is also a great way to keep pears around a little longer. You bet, I’ll be keeping a few cups of diced poached pears refrigerated to top on my morning yogurt and granola or as Mr J said, as ice cream topping.

Want to get creative with your poaching liquid? Try experimenting with tea, bourbon, coconut milk (oooo!!) or coffee. The list if endless.

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Yield: 4 pears

Spiced Poached Pear Crumble

Poached in spiced cider and white wine, this beautiful pear crumble is an absolute easy and satisfying winter dessert! 

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients

4 ripe but firm pears (I used Anjou) 2 cinnamon sticks ½ teaspoon cloves 1 cup apple cider 2 cups white wine (of your choice) For Crumble: 1½ cup all purpose flour ½ cup rolled oats ¾ cup brown sugar ½ cup mixed nuts (walnuts and pecans) 1 teaspoon cinnamon ⅓ cup unsalted butter, softened at room temperature

• 4 ripe but firm pears (I used Anjou)
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• ½ teaspoon cloves
• 1 cup apple cider
• 2 cups white wine (of your choice)

For Crumble:

• 1½ cup all purpose flour
• ½ cup rolled oats
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup mixed nuts (walnuts and pecans)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ⅓ cup unsalted butter, softened at room temperature

Instructions

1. Place the pears, cinnamon sticks, cloves, cider, wine and enough water to cover them in a medium saucepan set over medium high heat. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer. Cook pears on simmer until just soft, about 20 minutes. Poke with a toothpick to check doneness. Using a slotted spoon, remove pears from the water and let cool on a cooling rack.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a medium bowl, whisk together oats, flour, brown sugar and walnuts. Using your fingers, mix in the butter into the mixture until it looks like breadcrumbs. Place each poached pear into a ramekin and fill ramekins all the way to the top with the crumble. Press down gently.
3. Bake until crumble is lightly brown, about 30 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream.

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I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.