Recipe for pear belle helene
My take on a delicious Pear Belle Helene.
The dish consists of sugar-poached pears, vanilla ice cream, almonds, and chocolate sauce.
It is said that the dish was created by the famous August Escoffier, known as the father of modern French cuisine. The dish was created in the 1880s and became known as “Poire Belle Helene.” It was a tribute to the operetta: La Belle Helene.
In my version, my wife poached the pears herself, but you can easily get away with buying “halved pears in syrup” from supermarkets. They also taste lovely.
Additionally, I used homemade salted almonds and vanilla ice cream for the recipe.
Equipment
- Cutting Board
- Knife
- Pot
- Canning Jar
Ingredients
Poached pear
- 8 pcs. Pear they must not be too soft
- 2 pcs. Vanilla Pod
- 1000 gram Water
- 546 gram Sugar
Chocolate Sauce
- 150 gram Dark chocolate preferably between 60-70%
- 100 gram Cream
- 103 gram Whole Milk
- 20 gram Butter
Serving
- Salted almonds chopped, can be replaced by regular almonds, but I think the salt helps the dish
- Vanilla Ice Cream preferrably homemade
Instructions
Poached pear
- There is enough for more than 4 people when it comes to the amount of pears. I just prefer to make a large batch; they can stay in the syrup in the fridge for many months afterwards. It's an advantage to make them the day before, so they are cold when served.
First, remove the core from the pears. You can easily do this with a small sharp knife. Start from the bottom, remove the flower, and then the core. I chose to cut my pears in half lengthwise, but you don't necessarily have to do that.- Next, peel the pears.
- Split the vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds.
- Bring the water to a boil with the sugar and vanilla seeds.
- Add the pears to the water when it boils. Let them boil under a lid until they are tender. This takes about 20-30 minutes, but keep an eye on them. You can, if you wish, place a small plate or saucer on top of the pears to keep them submerged in the syrup.
- Remove the pot from the heat and let the pears sit in the syrup while they cool for about an hour.
- You can now pour them into a preserving jar.
- If you're not using chocolate chips, coarsely chop your chocolate.
- Put milk, cream, and chocolate in a saucepan/pot and melt together, stirring with a whisk, over low heat.
- Remove the sauce from the heat and let it cool slightly.
- Cut the butter into smaller pieces and stir it into the sauce a little at a time.
- The sauce will end up glossy on the surface and should only be served warm (about 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit)).
- It's almost up to you how you want to serve your Pear Belle Helene.
- You can place a whole pear on the plate with a quenelle/scoop of vanilla ice cream, almonds, and chocolate sauce.
- You can cut your pear into smaller pieces, chop the almonds, let the chocolate sauce sit at the bottom or pour it over - only your imagination sets the limits.
- We like to put some effort into the food, so this one was plated to perfection.
First, remove the core from the pears. You can easily do this with a small sharp knife. Start from the bottom, remove the flower, and then the core. I chose to cut my pears in half lengthwise, but you don't necessarily have to do that.