Pear Ice Cream Recipes

BAKED PEARS WITH ICE CREAM

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• 2. Peel the pears with a vegetable peeler. Cut them in half lengthwise, leaving the stems on two of the halves if possible, and remove cores with a small melon baller. Place in an 8x8-inch baking pan, cut-side down.
• 3. Combine the lemon juice, apple juice, water, and brown sugar; pour over the pears. Set the pan over medium heat and bring the juices to a boil. Cover the pan with aluminum foil. Bake for 40 minutes (basting after 15 minutes), or until the pears are tender when tested with a toothpick.
• 4. Chill the pears overnight in the refrigerator, covered with the cooking syrup. Serve in four small dessert bowls to fit, cored-side up, with a small scoop of ice cream in the center of each. Spoon a little of the syrup into each bowl.

PEAR ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Combine milk, cream, and cinnamon stick in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Heat until small bubbles appear around the edge. Remove from heat, cover, and let steep for 30 minutes.
• In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, cook pears for 45 minutes, or until they make a thick sauce. Let cool a bit, then puree in a food processor or blender.
• Beat together egg yolks and sugar in a small bowl. Bring milk mixture back to a simmer, and whisk about 1 cup hot milk into egg mixture. Return to pan, and cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until thick enough to coat the spoon, about 5 minutes.
• Stir puree into ice-cream base. Chill, then stir in brandy, if desired. Freeze in an ice-cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Store in an airtight plastic container up to 2 weeks.

BLUE CHEESE-PEAR ICE CREAM

Steps:

• In a saucepan, combine the pears, wine, nectar, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the pears are tender and the liquid is reduced by 1/2. Puree in a food processor and transfer to a bowl to cool. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 2 hours.
• In a medium saucepan, heat the cream to a gentle boil over medium heat. Remove from the heat.
• Beat the egg yolks in a medium bowl. Whisk 1/2 cup of the hot cream into the egg yolks. Whisking, gradually add the egg mixture to the hot cream. Return to medium-low heat and cook, whisking, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and strain through a fine mesh strainer into a clean bowl. Add the blue cheese and salt, and whisk until fairly smooth. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing down against the surface to keep a skin from forming. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 2 hours.
• Whisk together the pear and cheese mixture and pour into the bowl of an ice cream machine. Freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until ready to serve.
• To serve, scoop the ice cream into bowls, 2 scoops per person. Drizzle with honey and sprinkle with chopped nuts. Place 2 phyllo cookies in the ice cream and serve.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a baking sheet and set aside.
• Place the phyllo on a work surface and cover with a damp kitchen towel. With a pastry brush, paint the top sheet with melted butter, and lightly sprinkle with nuts and sugar. Repeat with the remaining ingredients. Fold the phyllo stack in 1/2 over itself. Cut the phyllo twice lengthwise and twice across to make rectangles.
• Bake until golden brown and just crisp, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on the pan until ready to serve.

ROAST PEAR & SHERRY ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Peel, halve and core the pears, then put them in a gratin dish or roasting tin in which they can sit without too much surface area around them (otherwise the juices that come out of them will just burn off ). Sprinkle with the sugar and drizzle over 4 tbsp sherry and the melted butter. Bake for 30-40 mins; the pears should be completely tender and the juices around them slightly caramelised (check on them after 20 mins - if the pears are small it will take less time). Cut the pears up - still in the dish - and pour over the remaining sherry. Leave to cool completely, then purée (including all the juice) and push through a sieve. Cover and chill.
• To make the ice cream base, put the cream and milk in a heavy-based pan and add half the sugar. Slit the vanilla pod along its length and scrape the seeds out into the pan. Drop in the pod as well. Bring to just under the boil, stirring, then take the pan off the heat and leave to infuse. Remove the vanilla pod.
• Put the egg yolks in a bowl with the rest of the sugar and whisk with electric beaters until the mixture has increased in volume and falls in ribbons (this will take about 2 mins). Gradually stir about half the cream mixture into the eggs and sugar, then add this to the rest of the cream in the pan. Set the pan over a very low heat and cook, stirring all the time with a wooden spoon, for 8-10 mins, or until the mixture has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. Be really careful not to let the mixture overheat or it'll curdle.
• Pour the custard into a bowl set in a sink of iced water (this stops it cooking immediately) and leave to cool, stirring a little every so often. Chill for 3 hrs. Stir the pear purée and the 2 tbsp sherry into the custard, then churn in an ice cream maker following the manufacturer's instructions. Spoon into a container, cover and store in the freezer. Alternatively, if you don't have an ice cream maker, put the custard and pear mixture into a freezer-proof bowl, cover and put it in the freezer. Beat the mixture every hour until it's frozen (about 4 hrs) to break down the crystals.