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5.0 from 24 votes

Poire Belle Helene

Classic simple French dessert of poached pears, vanilla ice cream and warm chocolate sauce (see recipe card below). Invented by famous chef, Auguste Escoffier, after hearing the French soprano, Hortense Schneider, sing the title role in Offenbach's Belle-Hélène in Paris, 1864.

Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
1 hr
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 238 kcal
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: French

Ingredients

  • 6 pears (Williams or Comice, medium firm) peeled, stalk and core left intact
  • 250 g (9oz/ 1¼ cups) sugar
  • 500 ml (18fl oz/ 2 cups) water
  • 1 lemon, juice only
  • ¼ teaspoon vanilla powder or extract (optional)
  • 1 litre tub vanilla ice cream
  • 40 g (1.5oz/ 2 tbsp) broken hazelnuts or flaked almonds, grilled (for garnish)

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. In a large saucepan, boil the water, sugar and lemon to form a syrup. Add the vanilla powder, if using.
  2. Peel the pears, leaving the stalk and the core intact. Ensure the pears are covered by the syrup by placing parchment paper on top and cover with a lid.  Poach in the syrup for about 30 minutes until tender.
  3. Remove the pears from the syrup and finely cut the ends off so that each pear can stand up right without falling over. Chill in the fridge until needed.
Assembly:
  1. In each serving dish, serve 1-2 scoops of ice cream, top with a pear and pour over the warm sauce. Garnish with grilled or toasted hazelnuts and serve immediately.

Notes

  • See chocolate sauce recipe below.
  • To Serve: delicious with chocolate macarons, mendiants or chocolate hazelnut cookies.
  • Pears: It's best to use pears that are medium ripe to firm. If more firm, then allow for slightly more cooking/poaching time.
  • Nutritional Information (includes sauce): 238 calories per serving; 4g protein; 12g fat; 29g carbohydrates.