Spiced Chai Poached Pears are an elegant, easy dessert for the fall and winter. Firm Bosc pears are poached in diluted sweetened chai concentrate making the prep work for this recipe a breeze.
As the weather has cooled drinking Chai has become a daily treat in our house. We have a single cup coffee machine and make it in a flash with Chai K-cups.
We keep chai concentrate in the fridge and my kids are drinking it iced too.
The bold spices in the sweetened black tea speak to the season and make for a cozy drink next to a fire.
It has gotten my mental wheels turning about what else to do with it. Spiced Chai Poached Pears is a simple new favorite dessert I’m sharing today!
You can use homemade chai too! Try out Baked Pears too.
You’ll note pear season is upon us. All sorts of varieties and hitting the grocery stores now just in time for the holidays. It’s a wonderful fruit to eat raw but also to feature in salads and certainly desserts. A few of my personal favorites are Caramelized Pear Upside Down Cake (such a beautiful presentation and gorgeous flavors) and Seckel Pear Soft Creme Tart. This list of Pear Perfection: 12 Gluten-Free Recipes gives even more recipe ideas!
Poaching pears is not a new idea. Often you’ll see them poached in wine, but Spiced Chai Poached Pears sounded fantastic to me and the result of this easy recipe does not disappoint. At the risk of being the ‘lazy recipe girl’ I use a spiced chai concentrate diluted with water, so your recipe prep work is coring and peeling the pears only.
For a pretty presentation this recipe calls to core the pears from the underside. I use an apple corer and a small paring knife to remove the bottom part of the core and the seeds leaving the stems intact. I have found that the core of some pears come out easily with the apple corer only and others require a bit of help from the paring knife too to ensure all the seeds are removed.
For this recipe I recommend Bosc pears. You’ll recognize them at the store as the tall, slender variety with a rougher brownish skin. They are a firmer variety of pear which works well to hold their beautiful shape through poaching and stand tall on a dessert plate when serving.
Ideally the pears would stay submerged while poaching to cook thoroughly however the pears will bob to the surface of the liquid as they cook. One way to address this is to place a flat saucepan lid (smaller than the diameter of the pot they are cooking in) on top of them to hold them down. It must be flat to not blemish the fruit. Alternatively, the liquid can be ladled on top of the pears periodically as they cook, or you can gently rotate them.
Serving the poached pears with a dollop of freshly whipped cream or ice cream makes an easy fall or winter dessert. They have a faint flavor of Chai without being overwhelming, so the sweet pear flavor comes through!
How to make Spiced Chai Poached Pears:
Recipe
Spiced Chai Poached Pears
Ingredients
- 4 Bosc Pears peeled from the stem down leaving the stems intact
- Apple Corer
- Paring Knife
- 32 ounce box Spiced Chai Concentrate (sweetened)
- 32 ounces Water
Instructions
- Using an apple corer and/or paring knife, core the pears from underneath (aproximately 2/3's into the pear just to remove the seeds). Peel the pears leaving the stems intact (refer to photos).
- In a large saucepan or stock pot, combine the chai concentrate and water and bring to a low boil over medium heat. Place the pears in the liquid; either weight down with a flat-bottomed saucepan lid smaller in diameter than the cooking pot or ladle the liquid over the pears periodically to ensure all surfaces cook.
Randi says
What a gorgeous looking dessert … and so elegant too. Definitely trying this!
Sinisa says
Very interesting recipe. Pears are my favorite
Janis @MommyBlogExpert says
Your poached pears recipe looks so elegant, but I’m glad to see how easy this is to make. I’m going to have to make these during the holidays. Beautiful plating too!
Tonya says
This sounds like a great recipe to try! And the presentation looks so elegant. I love chai so I think this will be a hit for me.
Kathy says
I love having pears, and so do my daughters. These sound like they’d be really good. I think my daughters would really enjoy them as well.
brianne says
What a fun fall dish and dessert! I am going to make this one for the holidays!
Claudia Krusch says
I am always looking for new recipes to try/ I will have to add this Spiced Chai Poached Pears recipe to my meal plan for next week. I am sure it will be a big hit.
Sara Welch says
My freind would love this one. She is obsessed with pear recipes.
Kelly Hutchinson says
I have never tried to poach a pear, but this recipe sounds so good! This would be perfect for Thanksgiving!
Pam says
These are just so pretty. My son loves pears so he would love these poached chai pears.