Chai Poached Pears with Vanilla Cashew Cream

Chai tea is a popular drink for fall and winter and also happens to make an aromatic poaching liquid for seasonal Bosc pears. These chai poached pears are accompanied with a smooth vegan vanilla cashew cream and make an elegant and simple dessert for the fall or winter months or holiday celebrations.

Course Dessert

Cuisine French

Keyword chai poached pears, vegan cashew cream

Prep Time 2

Cook Time 30

Total Time 2 30

Servings people

Calories 645kcal

Author Heidi Richter

Ingredients

For the Pears

2 bags Earl Grey or Lady Grey Tea
2 cups Boiling water
3 large Bosc or Bartlett pears ripe but firm
½ cup Maple syrup
3 oz Chai spice blend
1 large Orange peel

For the Cashew Cream

1 cup unsalted cashews raw
½ - ¾ cup Water depending on desired thickness
¼ teaspoon Vanilla seed
2 tablespoon Maple syrup
½ teaspoon Ground cinnamon

Instructions

Make the Cashew Cream

In a medium bowl, add the cashews and cover with filtered water. Let soak for 2 hours. Drain and place the soaked cashews, ½- ¾ cups of fresh water, vanilla, maple syrup and cinnamon in a blender or food processor. Blend on high until smooth and creamy. Store in a glass container with a fitted lid until ready to use. Makes approximately 16oz of cashew cream.

Poaching the Pears

In a 3 quart saucepan, boil approx. 2 cup of water. Place the tea bags in the water and steep for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, peel the pears, starting from the bottom up, making sure to keep the stem intact. Remove the tea bags, making sure to press out the tea water. Stir in sweetener, chai spice blend, and orange peel. Place the peeled pears in the spiced tea/spice mixture and add more water until the pears are just slightly covered with liquid.
Bring the pears to a simmer and cook for 20-25 minutes or until a knife pierces the pears with ease. Remove the pears with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Bring the poaching liquid to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the liquid is reduced and it lightly coats the back of a spoon (about 25 minutes). Strain through a fine sieve making sure to reserve the liquid.

Assembly

To serve, place several spoonfuls of vanilla Cashew cream on a small serving plate. Add poached pear and pour a small amount of the poaching syrup over top. Best served warm.

Notes

If your pears are not quite ripe, you can simply increase the poaching time until they are softened. You can gently press the tip of a knife into a few sections of the pears to enable them to soak in more of the poaching juices while simmering.

As pears are naturally sweet, you can use less or no sweetener, if you prefer, and add a small amount more to the cashew cream, to balance it out.

Nutrition