Sweet decadence! Episode 5.5: Baked pears

As the days are getting shorter and the nights colder, true comfort foods come into their own. Baked desserts are a special treat in our house, and only served on weekends or very special occasions.

Autumn is the time to cook with pears and apples, as both are in season now. There are many varieties of pears. Any can be used in this recipe, but the variety Beurré Bosc is preferred. This variety, originally from France, has a white, dense, crisp flesh that holds its shape well when cooked, making it perfect to poach or bake. It has a rusty brown skin. Our Chinese friend, Long, calls them "ugly pears" as they are often the last thing left in the workplace communal fruit bowl.

This recipe is easy to scale up to suit the number of guests you have. If the dessert is following a large meal, you can always serve half a pear per person. The quantities here are for two people, with two halves each.

As the recipe makes a caramel as the sauce, extra care is needed when handling. It is after all boiling sugar, and can cause a nasty burn if you spill any on your skin. The final baking step needs to be watched carefully, as depending on your oven, the caramel can easily burn. We are after a deep, golden colour. To see how to make this dish, you can watch my YouTube video below

Baked Pears
1/2 tsp vanilla paste
75 g castor sugar
20 g butter
Juice 1 lemon

2 pears (Beurré Bosc)
Shaved almonds,
toasted for garnish

Whipped cream to serve

Place sugar, vanilla, butter & lemon juice in baking dish. Place in oven 200°C (fan forced) until butter has melted. Stir well.

Split each pear into two longways. Using a spoon, gently remove core. Place pears face down in the dish. Cover with foil, bake 25 minutes.

Carefully turn over pears. Leave the dish uncovered and bake until soft (20-25 minutes).

Cooking notes:

Beurré Bosc pears' white flesh is denser, crisper and smoother than that of other pears. But you can use other pears.

Generally serve one pear (two halves) per person. This recipe is easy to scale up to serve more people.

Monitor the last few minutes of cooking carefully as the caramel can darken quickly, and you don't want to burn the sauce.

Maybe swirl cream into caramel sauce (which will make it more like a butterscotch sauce).

Let cool just a little before serving, as the caramel is extremely hot. Be careful not to let the dish cool as the caramel will set hard.


Allow the dish to stand for a few minutes before serving. Serve with cream and toasted almonds.

Updated June 2023