Mulled Wine, Poached Pear And Ginger Trifle

Tanya's Christmas

Posted by Blink Publishing

About

This is another pudding that works any time of year but really comes into its own at Christmas. This version most definitely has the wow factor at a feast and works as a great alternative to Christmas pudding. Divine.

Serves 10–12
Prep time: 40 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour, 
plus cooling

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You Will Need (17 things)

  • For the pears:

  • 750 ml Red Wine (1 bottle)
  • 125 g Caster Sugar
  • 3 Cloves
  • 1 Cinnamon Stick
  • ½ tsp Freshly grated Nutmeg
  • 1 Bay Leaf
  • 3 Clementines , sliced into rounds (skin on)
  • 6 –8 conference Pears (not too ripe)

  • For the trifle:

  • 250 ml Double Cream
  • 300 g Gingerbread loaf, cut into 2cm chunks
  • 750 ml Ready-made fresh vanilla Custard
  • 125 g Amaretti biscuits, crushed
  • 100 g Toasted flaked Almonds
  • 50 g Crystallised Ginger , chopped
  • You will need a 2-litre trifle Dish (preferably glass, with high sides).

Steps (4 steps, 40 minutes)

  1. 1

    Start by poaching the pears. Pour the wine into a saucepan and add 600ml water. Add the sugar, spices, bay leaf and sliced clementines and bring to a simmer over a low-medium heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Leave on a very low heat for about 15 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse. Meanwhile, peel the pears, but leave them whole (stem intact).

  2. 2

    Turn up the heat to medium and add the whole pears. Bring to a gentle simmer and poach the pears for 35–40 minutes, until they are deep red and just tender. Carefully remove each one from the liquid and set them aside to cool. Return the liquid to the heat, remove the spices, bay leaf and clementine slices and boil for 15–20 minutes to reduce it by half its volume and create a syrup. Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely before assembling the trifle.

  3. 3

    To assemble the trifle, cut your cooled pears in half lengthways and use a teaspoon to carefully remove the core. Trim away the woody stem. Whip the cream in a bowl until it holds soft peaks.

  4. 4

    Arrange the ginger cake chunks over the base of your trifle dish. Spoon half of the poaching syrup over the cake, then place the pears around the edges of your dish, with the cut sides facing outwards. Pour in the custard, then sprinkle over the crushed amaretti biscuits. Spoon over the whipped cream and chill in the fridge until ready to serve. Drizzle with the remaining poaching syrup and top with flaked almonds and crystallised ginger, then serve.