Poires Belle Hélène (Poached Pears)

Poires Belle Hélène is a French dessert con­sist­ing of pears poached in sug­ar syrup, served with melt­ed choco­late. It was cre­at­ed by French chef Auguste Escoffi­er in the 19th cen­tu­ry, and named after the operetta La Belle Hélène by Offen­bach. Poires Belle Hélène is a sim­ple, yet refined dessert. Often served with vanil­la ice cream, enhanc­ing the cold-warm con­trast even fur­ther, it is a deli­cious dessert that is sure to impress your guests, and yet, it is very easy to make.

Poires Belle-Hélène Recipe

Recipe in French here. (Please note, I made some changes to it.)

Print Recipe

Poires Belle Hélène

Course

Dessert

Prep Time

15 min­utes

Cook Time

40 min­utes

Serv­ings

peo­ple

Ingre­di­ents

For poached pears

• 3 pears (I used Anjou Pears)
• 1 qt water
• 1/2 cup gran­u­lat­ed sug­ar
• 1 tea­spoon vanil­la extract
• 1 Lemon

For melt­ed choco­late

• 4 oz. Bit­ter­sweet dark bak­ing choco­late
• 3 table­spoons water

Course Dessert Prep Time 15 min­utes Cook Time 40 min­utes Serv­ings peo­ple Ingre­di­ents For poached pears 3 pears (I used Anjou Pears) 1 qt water 1/2 cup gran­u­lat­ed sug­ar 1 tea­spoon vanil­la extract 1 Lemon For melt­ed choco­late 4 oz. Bit­ter­sweet dark bak­ing choco­late 3 table­spoons water

Instruc­tions

1. Using a veg­etable peel­er, peel the pears, remov­ing the skin but leav­ing the stem. Squeeze a tiny bit of lemon juice on the pears.

   
2. Fill a pot with 1 qt of water, 1/2 cup of sug­ar, and 1 tea­spoon of vanil­la extract. Warm it up on the stove, stir­ring from time to time. When the water starts boil­ing, place the pears in the boil­ing water, and let them poach for 30 min­utes on medi­um heat. Check to see if the pears are ready by using the tip of a knife. Pears should be soft enough that the tip of the knife goes right in. If the pears are still too hard, let them poach for longer.

   
3. Take the pears out of the water, and place each pear in an indi­vid­ual small serv­ing bowl. Let the pears cool down. (Tip: If a pear is not stand­ing upright, use a knife to flat­ten the bot­tom of the pear, so as to make it stand upright.) If you wish to remove the core of the pears, now is a good time to do it. How­ev­er, you need to make sure the pears can still stand upright with the core removed, which is why I pre­fer to keep the core.

   
4. In the mean­time, pre­pare the melt­ed choco­late. Cut the choco­late in lit­tle pieces, and place it in a pot togeth­er with 3 table­spoons of water. Put the pot in a big­ger pot of hot water so as to melt the choco­late in a bain-marie (this allows for slow cook­ing as the hot water from the big­ger recep­ta­cle is what warms up the choco­late con­tained in the small­er pot). Stir the choco­late, and let it melt slow­ly (about 5–10 min­utes).

   
5. Pour the melt­ed choco­late on the pears. Serve with vanil­la ice cream on the side. You can also place sliced almonds on the pears, if you wish. Enjoy right away, when the choco­late is hot. Bon Appétit!

   

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Bon Appétit!

French Mom

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Sum­ma­ry

Recipe Name

Poires Belle-Hélène

Author Name

French Mom Cook­ing

Pub­lished On

2018-01-03