You will love this simple, but elegant recipe for Baked Pears. Sliced pears are baked with butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger and orange. The brown sugar adds a caramel flavour, and the warm spices evoke a feeling of comfort and cosiness. As they bake, the air will fill with the spiced aroma, alerting anyone nearby that something delicious awaits. This is a dessert that will be enjoyed by adults and children alike.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe:
- These Baked Pears are a dessert which can be prepared quickly and easily. Like my Baked Apples, you will find many ways to serve them.
- The recipe contains store cupboard ingredients which are readily available, or you may already have to hand.
- It is a family friendly dessert which can be quickly made with minimal effort, but provides great flavour. You will find countless ways to enjoy it.
- To enhance the flavour of the pears, we use the simple technique of roasting the pears. It heightens and brightens the flavour and enhances their natural sweetness.
- You can easily double the recipe to cater for more people – or just to have more for later!
Recipe Inspiration: the combination of pears and spices is a winner; they have a natural affinity.
Ingredients and Substitutions:
Please see the recipe card further along in the post for exact quantities of ingredients and the full method.
- Pears – I have used William Bartlett pears, but you can use Packham, Beurre Bosc or Anjou. They should be firm, only just ripe. Fully ripe pears are not suitable – they will become mushy.
- Light brown sugar – adds a gentle caramel sweetness.
- Ground cinnamon and ground ginger – these are warm spices, aromatic and full of flavour. If you prefer, you can vary the spices to suit your taste. Nutmeg, ground cloves or star anise are all good options.
- Sea salt – a small amount of salt brightens the flavours.
- Vanilla extract – use good quality vanilla, naturally extracted from the vanilla bean.
- Fresh orange – we use strips of orange peel and juice to complement the pear flavour.
- Butter – adds a silkiness to the sauce in which the pears bake.
Variations:
Spice – vary the spices to suit your taste. You could use star anise, nutmeg or cloves.
How To Make Baked Pears:
Please see the recipe card further along in the post for exact quantities of ingredients and the full method.
1 – Prepare your spice blend:
In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and salt and set aside.
2 – Prepare the pears:
Peel the pears and cut in half. Use a sharp knife to remove the core from each half, along with stringy fibres that run from the stem to the core. You will also need to trim the calyx, the woody portion at the bottom of the pear.
Cut each pear half into quarters and add to a large baking dish. Then add the orange peel strips and orange juice and toss together.
3 – Combine in your baking dish:
Sprinkle evenly with the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Dot the butter over the top and put the baking dish into the oven.
4 – Bake until tender:
After about 15 minutes, remove the dish from the oven and gently turn the pear pieces over.
Return to the oven for a further 15 minutes and turn the pears over again. Check if the pears are done to your liking. This will depend on the variety and ripeness of the pears that you have used. If not, return to the oven for 5 minutes and check again.
Hint: the total cooking time will vary depending on the type of pear you use, and how tender you like them.
Tips for Success, Storage and FAQs:
I prefer to peel them, but you can certainly leave the skin on if you prefer.
They certainly can. When they are completely cold, store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. As the sauce contains butter, it will solidify slightly, so they are best if gently reheated on the stove or in the microwave.
Should you have any leftovers, you can freeze them for up to 3 months in an airtight container. Depending on how ripe they were and how long they were cooked, they may be softer after defrosting.
Top Tip:
For the best result, choose pears carefully. They should be firm and only just ripe. Fully ripe pears are not suitable, they will become mushy. I have used William Bartlett pears, but you can use Packham, Beurre Bosc or Anjou.
Serving Suggestions:
You will find so many ways to enjoy these Baked Pears. For instance, you could:
- Serve them for breakfast with my Chocolate Overnight Oats or with a dollop of plain yoghurt, sprinkled with chopped toasted almonds.
- Add them to Oat Flour Waffles or Pancakes.
- Warm them and serve with my No-Churn Vanilla Ice Cream. The juxtaposition of warm pears and cold ice cream is a delight.
- Serve them for dessert with my Caramelised Yoghurt Cream – they are so good together.
These quickly and easily made Baked Pears are likely to become a go-to recipe when you need a flavoursome dessert in a hurry. I hope it will be as popular with your family as it is mine.
Alex xx
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Baked Pears
Please note:
For accuracy, when weights are provided, we recommend weighing your ingredients. This will produce the best results. All oven temperatures listed are for fan forced.
Ingredients
- 4 large pears – I use William Bartlett – prepared weight 835 g (1.8 lb), after peeling/coring See Note 1
- 60 g (¼ cup) light brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 strips orange peel
- 2 tablespoon orange juice
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter – cut into small cubes See Note 2
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200 degrees C (390 F).
- In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, salt and vanilla and set aside.
- Peel the pears and cut in half. Use a sharp knife to remove the core from each half, along with stringy fibres that run from the stem to the core. You will also need to trim the calyx, the woody portion at the bottom of the pear.
- Cut each pear half into quarters, and add to a large baking dish. (My baking dish is approximately 21 cm X 30 cm (8 ¼ x 12 inches).Add the orange peel strips and orange juice and toss together. Sprinkle evenly with the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Dot the butter over the top and put the baking dish into the oven.
- After about 15 minutes, remove the dish from the oven and gently turn the pear pieces over.Return to the oven for a further 15 minutes and turn the pears over again. Check if the pears are done to your liking – we like them fork tender. This will depend on the variety and ripeness of the pears that you have used. If not, return to the oven for 5 minutes and check again. Once cooked, remove from the oven and toss the pears so they are well coated in the juices.Serve with yoghurt, ice cream, granola or enjoy on their own.
Notes
- Pears: I have used William Bartlett pears, but you can use Packham, Beurre Bosc or Anjou. They should be firm, only just ripe. Fully ripe pears are not suitable, they will become mushy.
- Tablespoon: we use a standard Australian tablespoon which is 20 ml (4 teaspoons).
- Storage and re-heating: add the cooled pears to an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 3 days. As the sauce contains butter, it will solidify slightly, so they are best if gently reheated on the stove or in the microwave.
- Freezing: allow to cool and freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Depending on how long they were initially cooked, they may be slightly softer after defrosting.
Nutrition Estimate:
Nutritional Disclaimer:
The nutritional information is an estimate only, and is derived from online calculators. For accurate results, we recommend calculating the nutritional information based on the ingredients and brands you use.
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