Happy Halloween! Phew, now that I have that out of the way, I can officially start planning for the holidays, right? We’re not going home for the holidays this year so I’m counting on all of you to get me in the holiday spirit.
Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite holiday for many reasons. The first and second ones are pie, but a close third is that fact that Pat and I got engaged on Thanksgiving! I love gathering everyone around a big table and eating until you are so full you feel like you’re going to pop.
Thank you USA Pears for sponsoring this post. With fresh pear season underway, click here to check out more pear recipes!
Cooking a huge Thanksgiving meal can be a bit daunting so I try to prep as many dishes as possible ahead of time. This recipe for chai spice poached pears can be almost completely made ahead. Poached pears keep in the fridge for a couple of days, and the chai sorbet is also made ahead. Really the only thing you are responsible for on the day of is heating the pears and making a little chocolate ganache, which takes all of a few minutes. Pears are also in season, with all 10 varieties of USA Pears being harvested right now, so you can feel good about making your meal a little more sustainable too.
Poached pears are an absolutely stunning dessert and I’m going to let you in on a little secret – they are so dang easy. My favorite are Bosc pears because they keep their shape nicely when baked. You can also poach Anjou or Bartlett as well. Choose pears that are firm and even a teeny bit underripe as the longer they take to soften up, the more poaching liquid will infuse them.
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about my trip to India to volunteer in a Tibetan hospital a few years ago and how chai tea is a part of everything there – breaks at work, gatherings of friends and of course mealtimes. It’s obvious that it’s influenced my cooking with all the chai spice recipes that show up here.
Oh, and this recipe is also healthier than your usual dessert, gluten free and vegan. Poached pears are the total package. What are you waiting for?
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PrintChai Spice Poached Pears with Chai Sorbet
- Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 1x
- Category: Dessert
Ingredients
- 4-inch piece of ginger, in thin slices
- 4 cinnamon sticks
- 8 peppercorns
- 2 vanilla beans, sliced in half lengthwise
- 2-star anise
- 3 whole allspice
- 10 cloves
- 20 cardamom pods, lightly smashed
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 cup raw sugar
- 8 cups water
- 6 teaspoons loose black tea (6 tea bags)
- 4–6 pears (my favorite is Bosc, followed by Anjou or Bartlett)
For the ganache:
- 3/4 cup poaching liquid
- 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate (about 1 cup of chocolate chips)
For the chai sorbet:
- 1/4 c. reserved poaching liquid
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
- Uncooked egg, washed with soap and water
Instructions
- Combine all spices (except black tea) in a large stockpot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 15 minutes.
- Turn off heat and add black tea. Let steep 15 additional minutes.
- Meanwhile, peel the pears and remove the core with a melon baller starting from the bottom. Leave the stem intact.
- Strain spices out of the liquid and return liquid to pot. Add pears and return to a boil. Simmer on low for 45 minutes to one hour until the thickest part of the pear is tender when poked with a toothpick. Remove from pot with a slotted spoon and allow to cool on a baking rack covered with parchment paper. Reserve the poaching liquid for the ganache and sorbet. Serve immediately or wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
- Once ready to serve, make the ganache: combine 1/4 cup poaching liquid and bittersweet chocolate
- To make the chai sorbet: Pour the leftover poaching liquid in a fine mesh strainer and chill in the refrigerator at least 4 hours or overnight. Prepare simple syrup by heating sugar and water in a saucepan and allow to cool to room temperature. Using a well cleaned-uncooked egg, add simple syrup to the poaching liquid until a portion of the egg the size of a quarter emerges above the surface of the mixture. This is how you know your sorbet will be smooth and not freeze into a solid brick!
- To assemble: Rewarm the poached pears if needed. Drizzle with chai chocolate ganache and serve with a scoop of chai sorbet.
Tips: Less ripe pears work best as they take longer to soften and therefore have a stronger flavor.
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
Chai everything! Yes please! I’ve never tried either making poached pears or sorbet before, but definitely will give it a try…but just a heads up, I may come back here begging for help! 🙂
I promise they are not difficult at all! The chai liquid recipe is really flexible too – if S has a family recipe you could use that too. Happy to help with any questions you have!
Yummy! I love Thanksgiving too and mostly for the food and family time involved. That’s sweet you were engaged then. Have you ever had the pears in Harry and David boxes? Now THOSE are good.
You know what, I haven’t tried the Harry and David boxes, but I have heard that they are legendary! Being engaged on Thanksgiving was so much fun – surrounded by our friends and family. It’s such a great memory!
Wow! This is beautiful! What a gorgeous dessert! We are not going home for the holidays either, so we will keep you company! Kristi @ Inspiration Kitchen
Thanks so much Kristi! I love it – Virtual Friendsgiving!
Not only does this look delicious for a Fall day like today, but your pictures are making me swoon! Love how they just feel like cuddling up to!
Thank you so much Pamela!
These photos are stunning. I’m not sure I’d even be able to it eat. So beautiful. You can’t go wrong with anything chair flavored. :] // itsCarmen.com ☼ ☯
Thanks so much Carmen! I promise they are just as delicious as they are beautiful!
I genuinely can’t get over how beautiful this is! It’s like a healthy decadence, that sauce looks beautiful! I absolutely second what everyone else is saying – the photos are stunning!
Thanks so much Tash! You’re too sweet!
Everything here is just gorgeous, Kelly! I love pears especially poached and it sounds amazing with that ganache and chai sorbet! So pretty an elegant 🙂
Thanks Kelly! It’s chai overload but it’s not too bad because you use the poaching liquid for everything.
I’ve never had a poached pear before. It sounds delightful with the ganache and chai sorbet. And it looks so elegant!
I highly recommend it, especially around the holidays! Such a show-stopper and you can make them ahead!
Yuuuuum!
🙂
Haha, thanks! 🙂
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday as well! You can keep Christmas…..too much hoopla for me. Thanksgiving is all about the food and family. My two favorite things!! Love these poached pears. They look fantastic!! 🙂
Haha, I completely agree about Christmas. I’ll actually be working at the hospital this year! I figured I’d leave the day off for people with small kiddos.
Beautiful dessert! And I’m sure just as delicious as it looks!
Thanks so much! I promise it is!
I haven’t had poached pears before – but recently had a brie/cheese appetizer with a pear soaked in mulled wine. It was SO different – and pretty tasty. I have no idea how you guys peel the pears without losing its shape or having weird bumps in it.
STOP. That sounds amazing! Soft cheeses, wine and pears? So many delicious things in one dish! I choose a pear that keeps its shape when cooked – just like apples some do better than others. Bosc is my fave. As for bumps, I just use a veggie peeler and peel in one direction. Mine definitely still have bumps though!
How gorgeous are these pears?! I’m seriously in love with all the chai flavors going on and that chocolate ganache is just killing me! What an elegant fall treat. 🙂
Aww, thanks so much Sarah!
These poached pears + sorbet looks absolutely delicious! How did you know that I LOVE chocolate sauce!
Thanks Lisa! I’m quite the mind reader! 🙂
Poached pears are amazing! This is absolutely gorgeous!
Thanks so much! Agreed!
I’m obsessed with this Chai sorbet. Chai is one of my favorite flavors – put it in sorbet? I’m SOLD.
Yay! It’s such a nice addition to the dessert with minimal extra effort!
I love love love pears… and somehow have yet to try poaching them… this post totally just convinced me to do it already!
JUST DO IT! 🙂 Haha, seriously though!
CHAI. BRILLIANT. (And GORGEOUS photos!!!)
THANKS DEAR! xx