Ingredients:
For The Pears
- 4 medium, firm pears such as Bosc or D'Anjou peeled, cored and halved
- A bottle of fruity red wine such as Malbec or Pinot
- 1 cup Pinch & Pour Aged Vanilla Balsamic
- 2 star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 cup granulated sugar
For The Mascarpone
- 1 8oz. container mascarpone
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Method:
In a medium, heavy saucepan mix the red wine, balsamic, sugar, cinnamon stick and star anise. Bring to a simmer and reduce by 1/3 (about 15 minutes). Place the pear halves in to the hot poaching liquid and simmer for 25 minutes or until the pear halves are vivid red and tender when pierced with a knife tip. Chill the pears in the poaching liquid. Meanwhile, make the honey-mascarpone. Using a stand mixer or in a medium mixing bowl, whip the mascarpone, honey and cinnamon together until light and airy. Serve the chilled pears with a dollop of mascarpone.
Ingredients:
- 1 pound quality dark chocolate, chopped (Cocoa 56%+)
- 8 oz. heavy whipping cream
- 2 Tbs. Pinch & Pour Aged Vanilla Balsamic
- 1/3 cup good quality cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Method:
- Place chopped chocolate in a wide, heatproof bowl.
- In a heavy bottom pan, bring the heavy cream and salt to a boil. Turn down the heat and let the cream simmer for a full minute. Stir often, making sure the cream does not burn.
- Immediately take the cream from the heat and pour evenly over the chopped chocolate. Resist the temptation to stir. Allow to sit for 2-4 minutes in order to melt the chocolate.
- When the chocolate has melted, stir the ingredients together with a heatproof rubber spatula. Use the spatula to stir any larger pieces of chocolate in to the warm cream to dissolve.
- Add the Vanilla Balsamic to the ganache and mix thoroughly. The ganache will thicken as it cools and when it reached room temperature, can be piped. To make traditional truffles, pipe small portions ( approximately 2 tsp.) of ganache on to parchment paper or another non-stick surface. These portions will continue to cool and solidify and can then be rolled in to small balls. Dredged the balls in to cocoa powder. If used while warm, the ganache can be poured over cakes or used to dip fruit.
