Cardamom Pear Parfait

By The Canadian Living Test Kitchen

11 people added this to their Recipe Box

This recipe makes 8 servings

Nutritional Info
Per serving: about	-
cal	279279 cal
pro	4 g4g pro
total fat	9 g9g total fat
sat. fat	5 g5g sat. fat
carb	43 g43g carb
fibre	1 g1g fibre
chol	98 mg98mg chol
sodium	51 mg51mg sodium
% RDI:	-
calcium	99 calcium
iron	44 iron
vit A	1212 vit A
vit C	33 vit C
folate	77 folate

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Use small, ripe yet firm pears and serve in wide-mouthed martini glasses to show off the layers. Cardamom adds aromatic flair to the custard. We recommend buying green pods. Crush them lightly and pick out the dark brown seeds. Crush the seeds using a mortar and pestle or with the bottom of a heavy pan.

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups port 1-1/2 1-1/2cups cupsport
1-1/2 cups water 1-1/2 1-1/2cups cupswater
1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/2 1/2cup cupgranulated sugar
2 strips lemon rind 2 2strips stripslemon rind
1 tsp lemon juice 1 1tsp tsplemon juice
1 cinnamon stick , halved1 1cinnamon stickcinnamon sticks, halved
9 cardamom seeds 9 9cardamom seeds
3 whole cloves 3 3whole cloves
4 4small smallfirm pearpears, (1-1/4 lb 625 g total)
1/2 cup whipping cream 1/2 1/2cup cupwhipping cream
Custard:
1 egg 1 1eggeggs
2 egg yolks 2 2egg yolkegg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/2 1/2cup cupgranulated sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch 1/3 1/3cup cupcornstarch
1/4 tsp crushed cardamom seeds 1/4 1/4tsp tspcrushed cardamom seeds
2 cups milk 2 2cups cupsmilk

Preparation

Custard: In bowl, whisk together egg, egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and cardamom. Set aside.

In heavy saucepan, heat milk over medium heat until bubbles form around edge; whisk half into egg mixture. Whisk back into milk in pan; cook, stirring, until boiling and thick enough to coat back of spoon, about 7 minutes.

Strain milk mixture through fine sieve into bowl. Place plastic wrap directly on surface; refrigerate until chilled, about 3 hours. (Make-ahead: Refrigerate for up to 2 days.)

In Dutch oven, combine port, water, sugar, lemon rind and juice, cinnamon, cardamom and cloves. Bring to boil over medium heat; boil, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.

Peel and halve pears; using melon baller or teaspoon, scoop out cores. Add pears to pan; cover with round of parchment paper and lid. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until tender, 25 to 30 minutes.

Using slotted spoon, transfer pears to plate and let cool. Strain liquid through fine sieve into small saucepan; boil over high heat until reduced to about 1/2 cup (125 mL), about 8 minutes. Let cool.

In bowl, whip cream. Slice pears and set 8 slices aside. For each serving, spoon about 1/4 cup (50 mL) custard into 3/4-cup (175 mL) martini glass. Top with sliced pear, 1 tbsp (15 mL) port syrup and 2 tbsp (25 mL) whipped cream. Garnish with reserved pear slice. (Make-ahead: Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.)