Poire Belle Hélène {Poached Pears w/ Chocolate}

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Poire Belle Hélène is an indulgent dessert, made of poached pears with dark chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream. This post was first published on October 22nd, 2011. I’ve recently updated the photos. This post contains affiliate links. 

Poire Belle Helene Poached Pears

 

Poire Belle Helene, poached pears with chocolate sauce

Poire Belle Helene, poached pears with chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream.

The first time I went to Paris, was just after college and I was backpacking through Europe alone. I ended up there sometime in early autumn.

One night, I treated myself to dinner at the famous four star restaurant, “La Coupole”, on the Boulevard Montparnasse. The romantic, artsy side of me wanted to sit in the same booths as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Henry Miller and Picasso.

I don’t remember what I had for dinner, but for dessert, I had Poire Belle Hélène, a poached pear on top of French vanilla ice cream topped with dark chocolate sauce.

Poire Belle Helene, poached pears with chocolate sauce

Maybe it’s because I was in Paris, the city of romance, that I think Poire Belle Hélène is one of the most romantic desserts. It’s not very complicated, especially if you choose to use pre-made chocolate sauce. Since autumn is pear season, it put me in the mood for this elegant dessert. Sigh! Perhaps the next time I go, I won’t be alone!

4.8 from 10 votes
Poire Belle Hélène is an indulgent dessert, made of poached pears with dark chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream.
Print
Poached Pears
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
30 mins
Total Time
40 mins
 
A classi French dessert of poached pears, ice cream and hot fudge.
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: French
Author: Cynthia McCloud Woodman
Ingredients
  • 1 bottle of sweet white wine like a riesling or champagne. I used Prosecco.
  • 1 cup water
  • 3/4 sugar
  • 4 firm pears such as Bosc or Bartlett
Instructions
  1. Peel pears up to the stem and core from the bottom
  2. Bring water, Prosecco, and sugar to a boil in a large dutch oven or sauce pan, add pears and reduce heat to low.

  3. Cover and simmer for about 20-25 minutes or until pears are tender, but not too soft.

  4. Remove pears and refrigerate until ready to use.

 

How to Poach Pears

To make poached pears, core pears from the bottom, leaving the whole pear intact.

Core pears from the bottom, leaving the whole pear intact.

Peel pears up to the stem and core from the bottom.
Bring water, Prosecco, and sugar to a boil in a large dutch oven or sauce pan. Then, add pears and reduce heat to low.

Poire Belle Helene Poached pears
Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until pears are tender, but not too soft.
Remove pears and put into a serving dish (see below), then refrigerate until ready to use.

Poire Belle Helene Poached Pears
Some of the items used in this post are available here for your convenience, at no additional charge to you.

4.8 from 10 votes
Poire Belle Helene, poached pears with chocolate sauce
Print
Bittersweet Chocolate Sauce
Bittersweet or dark chocolate sauce for ice cream
Course: Dessert
Author: Cynthia McCloud Woodman
Ingredients
  • 8 oz. chopped dark semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate
  • 7 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup hot water
Instructions
  1. Combine all the ingredients in the top of a double boiler.
  2. Simmer on a medium low heat and stir until chocolate is smooth, about 5 minutes.
  3. Remove from heat and add:
  4. teaspoon vanilla
  5. pinch salt
  6. Remaining chocolate sauce will keep about a week in a covered container in the fridge.
  7. To serve, put a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream and 1 poached pear in a dish. Drizzle with chocolate sauce.
Homemade Bittersweet Chocolate Sauce.

Homemade Bittersweet Chocolate Sauce

 

Comments

  4. Carole mitchell says

    4 stars
    Cynthia, I still enjoy your blog. Questions 1. Do pears REALLY need 30 min poaching? It seems long, but what do I know!? 2. the number of ads seem longer than your wise words…some hassle to
    keep speeding by ….

    ❤️ Carole Mitchell

    Reply

    • Cynthia says

      Carole, I think it depends on how ripe your pears are. If they are fairly firm, which I suggest, because a fairly ripe pear would be mushy, they will need a bit more than 15 minutes. Another factor is the amount of water and size of the pot. That’s why I say, “or until tender”. Regarding ads, since my website is free, this is the only way I can recoup some of the costs of maintaining it. Although any time you purchase anything from amazon via my website, I receive a small percentage at no cost to you!

      Reply

  6. Natalia says

    5 stars
    I have few pears sitting in my fridge which I just didn’t want to eat raw. Now I know exactly what I’ll be making using those pears. This recipe looks so tasty, and your post is amazing as it allowed me to travel to Paris for a few moments, visit that restaurant and sit next to all those famous people.. oh la la! Can’t wait to have my chocolaty pears..

    Reply

  10. Danielle says

    5 stars
    I’ve never had poached pears, but they sound so amazing! I am a pretty big fan of pears, so this is something I may just have to try out. And I love the chocolate!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. […] I have warm memories of Christmases spent in England. We’d drive up from London for a few days to my friend’s family home in North Yorkshire. The  dining room in the “house” was large enough to hold one long table which sat  24 family members and one, far-from home Expat-Californian. Mr. R. as the host, wore a smoking jacket and “slippers“, while all the other men wore dinner jackets with fancy waistcoats. We women wore gowns. Christmas dinner was definitely a black tie affair.  In addition to the Plum Pudding brought to the table soaked in alcohol and set afire, there was Trifle. Ever since then, Christmas really isn’t Christmas without it. I had only ever made it with  Bird’s English Custard, and Sara Lee Pound cake. Bird’s is similar to Creme Anglaise, (“English Cream”) in the powdered form, and while not as fresh tasting and yummy as from scratch, Bird’s is a classic British ingredient and far easier. Bird’s can be found at most grocery stores, and Cost Plus World Market. Last year, Mom set the dessert bar even higher when she adapted Emeril Lagasse’s Poached Pear and Raspberry Trifle. Mom made a few changes, instead of using a store bought pound cake, she made an Almond Pound Cake, (almond’s my favorite flavor!) sprinkled the cake with a combination of Amaretto (more almond flavor!) and Marsala. For step-by-step photos on how to poach pears, click here.  […]

    Reply

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