Mulled Wine poached Pears with Oat Custard and Gingerbread Crumb

Mulled wine is essential for the Christmas/festive period, I’m not a big fan of the drink itself, but I previously have poached pears in it and loved the flavour. Poaching pears changes the texture of the fruit going from gritty to a smoother and softer texture without losing its crunch. The flavours meld so well together, it really is a winning wintery combo.

I wanted to go off very special and festive flavours, still making a dessert that requires minimal effort. This dessert is really easy. I love to eat this dish with hot pears and a cold custard- the different temperatures add to the experience, but have it anyway you would like. Another bonus, the poaching liquid doubles as actual mulled wine, so you get dessert and drink at the same time.

Serves: 1-5

prep/cooking time: 30-45 minutes

Ingredients

For the poached pear:

750ml red wine (get the cheapest red wine you can find)

1 star anise

2 small cinnamon sticks

5 whole cloves

the peel of 1/2 a clementine

6 cardamom pods, crushed

5 tbsp granulated sugar

2-5 conference pears, peeled, and halved

Method:

1. Add the wine, star anise, cinnamon sticks, cloves, clementine peel, cardamom pods, and sugar into a small/medium pot. If you’re making 2/3 pears use a small one, anything more, go with a medium pot.

2. Turn the heat up to medium high and let it come to a slight simmer, stirring until the sugar has dissolved - avoid boiling the mixture as this will make the alcohol evaporate.

3. When the wine is hot, add the pears. The pears should be submerged in the wine - they float so having the flat side facing up is the best way to ensure that most of the fruit will be in the liquid.

4. Pop a lid on and let simmer for 15 minutes on medium-low, ensuring it doesn’t come to a boil. After 15 minutes, turn the heat off and let steep for 15-30 minutes. The longer you leave it the more intense the mulled wine flavour will be.

For the Oat Custard:

1.5 cups (335ml) oat milk

2 tbsp cornstarch

1 tsp vanilla paste

1/3 cup (73g) (light/medium) maple syrup

Method:

1. In a small bowl, add 4 tbsp of your milk and the cornstarch. Mix until no clumps are left. Add the mixture along with the rest of the milk into a small pot with the vanilla paste.

2. Turn the heat up to medium high and cook stirring constantly until the mixture thickens and comes to a boil, let it bubble away for 2-3 minutes, then take it off the heat.

3. Pour the maple syrup into the custard and mix until fully incorporated. To make sure there are no lumps in the custard, pass it through a sieve, this is an optional step.

4. Put the custard in a bowl and cover the surface with cling film so a skin doesn’t form (you want the cling film to be touching the custard.) Set aside or put it in the fridge until needed.

For the Gingerbread crumb:

35g Speculaas/gingerbread/Lotus biscoff biscuits

Method:

1. Put the cookies in a ziplock and smash them until they become crumbs- you don’t want a powder, have bigger and smaller chunks in there.

Assembly:

1. In a bowl, add a layer of your custard. Take the poached pears out of the mulled wine and scoop out their core and any unwanted parts. Layer the pears on the custard and sprinkle on the gingerbread crumb.