Best Pear Brandy Souffle Soufflé Aux Poires Williams Recipes

PEAR BRANDY SOUFFLE (SOUFFLé AUX POIRES WILLIAMS)

Steps:

• For the pastry cream: Scald the milk. Beat the egg yolks with sugar until light and thick. Stir in the flour and cornstarch.
• Stir half the hot milk into the egg mixture. Then add that mixture to the remaining hot milk in the pan.
• Bring to a boil, whisking until the pastry cream thickens. Simmer for 2 minutes.
• Rub the surface of the hot cream with some butter.
• For the souffle: Peel and core the pears and put them along with the lemon juice into a food processor.
• Purée the pears and then pour into a saucepan.
• Cook the purée for 10-15 minutes. It should be thick enough to hold a shape. Allow to cool.
• Stir the cooled purée into the pastry cream and add the pear brandy. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the surface of the pear cream. It can be refrigerated up to 3 hours.
• Preheat oven to 425°F Thoroughly butter a 2-qt. soufflé dish.
• Whip the egg whites until stiff, then beat in the sugar and continue beating until they are glossy.
• Reheat the pear cream (if necessary) until it is hot to the touch.
• Fold one-quarter of the egg whites into the warm pear cream, mixing thouroughly.
• Gently fold the cream into the rest of the egg whites and pour into the prepared dish.
• Bake the soufflé in a heated oven 20-25 minutes. The soufflé should be puffed and brown.
• To Serve, dust with powdered sugar.

PEAR AND APPLE SOUFFLé

Steps:

• Fill a bowl with water, and add the juice of 1/2 lemon. Place the fruit in the water as you prepare it. When all of the fruit is prepared, drain and transfer to a large, heavy saucepan. Add 1 tablespoon of the sugar, the vanilla and ginger, and 2 tablespoons water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Stir, and then turn the heat down to low, cover and simmer, stirring often, for 20 minutes. Uncover and continue to simmer for another 30 to 40 minutes, stirring often, until the fruit is very soft and beginning to stick to the pan. It may or may not look like applesauce, depending on the texture of the apples and pears that you used (Granny Smith apples, for example, will break down, whereas Galas will not). Remove from the heat, and transfer to a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Puree until smooth. Transfer to a large bowl, and allow to cool.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees with the rack adjusted to the lowest position. Butter one 2-quart soufflé dish or six 6-ounce ramekins and dust with sugar (use about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the sugar).
• In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the egg whites on low speed for one minute or until they foam. Add the cream of tartar, and continue to beat on low speed for one minute. Turn the speed to medium, and slowly stream in the remaining sugar while you continue to beat until there are firm, satiny peaks. Be careful not to overbeat.
• Fold one third of the egg whites into the apple-pear puree to lighten it. Fold in the rest. Gently spoon into the ramekins or the soufflé dish, mounding it up over the top. Put the ramekins on a baking sheet, and place in the oven. Bake individual soufflés for about 10 minutes, until puffed and golden. They should still be runny on the inside. Bake a large soufflé for 15 to 20 minutes. Serve at once.

POIRE WILLIAM CHARLOTTES

Steps:

• Make cake: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 9-by-12-inch baking pan. Line bottom with parchment paper. Butter lining; then flour pan, tapping out excess. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
• Put butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; cream on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Mix in eggs, one at a time. Add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with two additions of milk. On low speed, mix in 1/4 cup brandy and the pear and nuts.
• Pour batter into prepared pan; spread evenly. Bake until golden brown and springy to the touch, about 40 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.
• Invert cake to unmold; peel off parchment. Using a long serrated knife, trim off sides of cake. Cut cake crosswise into quarters (each about 2 1/2 inches wide). Split quarters horizontally into 3 strips each (to make 12 strips total).
• Cut 10 strips crosswise into 6 (1/2-by-2 1/2-inch) rectangles. Using a 2-inch round cookie cutter, cut out 6 rounds from remaining 2 strips.
• Line 6 charlotte molds (4 inches in diameter and 2 1/4 inches high) or 10-ounce ramekins with overlapping strips, standing them vertically (about 10 strips per mold). Press 1 round onto bottom of each mold. Using remaining 1/2 cup brandy, brush cake in molds.
• Make filling: Puree pear and brandy in a food processor; set aside. Prepare an ice-water bath; set aside. Heat milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat until just about to simmer.
• Whisk together yolks, sugar, and salt. Pour half of hot milk into yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Add yolk mixture to the remaining hot milk in pan; whisk. Cook over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until mixture is thick enough to coat back of spoon. Pour through a fine sieve into a bowl set in ice-water bath. Let cool, stirring occasionally.
• Beat cream to soft peaks; set aside. Sprinkle gelatin over 1/4 cup water in a medium heatproof bowl. Let stand 1 minute to soften. Set bowl over a pan of simmering water; stir until gelatin is dissolved. Stir gelatin mixture into custard in ice-water bath. Stir in pear puree.
• Whisk mixture in bowl in bath until it thickens to a puddinglike consistency. Whisk in whipped cream. Divide mixture among molds (about 1/2 cup per mold). Cover with plastic wrap directly on surfaces; refrigerate until set, about 1 hour. Run a knife around edges of charlottes; invert onto plates. Serve cold.

PEAR SOUFFLéS WITH CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Steps:

• For sauce:
• Bring cream to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat. Add chocolate and let stand until chocolate softens slightly, about 1 minute. Add bourbon and stir until chocolate is melted and sauce is smooth. DO AHEAD: Sauce can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.
• For soufflés:
• Generously butter six 3/4-cup ramekins or custard cups, then coat with sugar, tilting ramekins to coat bottoms and sides evenly. Gently tap out any excess sugar. Place ramekins on rimmed baking sheet.
• Melt 1 tablespoon butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of pears and sauté until beginning to brown, about 8 minutes. Sprinkle with 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar and sauté until pears are caramelized and juices are thick, 3 to 4 minutes longer. Scrape pear mixture into bowl. Repeat with remaining 1 tablespoon butter, remaining pears, and 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar. Stir lemon juice into pears. Let cool to room temperature, about 45 minutes.
• Using slotted spoon, transfer pears to processor; add pear juices to chocolate sauce. Puree pears until smooth. Transfer pear puree (about 2 cups) to medium saucepan. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 hours ahead. Cover and chill puree.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Whisk egg yolks into pear puree in saucepan to blend. Stir pear mixture constantly over medium-low heat until steam rises and mixture is hot (do not boil). Carefully transfer pear mixture to large bowl. Using electric mixer, beat egg whites with pinch of salt in another large bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 5 tablespoons sugar to egg whites and beat until stiff but not dry. Gently fold 1/3 of egg whites into pear mixture to lighten. Gently fold in remaining egg whites in 2 additions. Divide soufflé batter equally among prepared ramekins (ramekins will be full).
• Bake soufflés until puffed and golden, about 20 minutes.
• Rewarm chocolate sauce over low heat. Serve soufflés immediately with warm chocolate sauce alongside.

PEAR GINGER SOUFFLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter dishes well, coat with sugar, and tap out excess. Chill.
• Peel, quarter, and core pears. Cut into 1-inch pieces. Squeeze lemon halves over pieces to prevent discoloring. Place pears and 2 tablespoons sugar in a small saucepan and cook, stirring frequently, over medium heat until they become a chunky sauce, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a food processor, and puree. Return to pan.
• Using a clean garlic press, squeeze juice from ginger into puree; discard pulp. Continue cooking puree over low heat until thick and a spoon drawn through puree leaves a trail, about 15 minutes.
• In a small bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in 2 tablespoons cold water. Stir into the puree, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Simmer a few minutes more. Transfer to a large bowl, and beat in egg yolks. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it onto the surface of the mixture. Keep warm until ready to use.
• In a large bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 3 tablespoons sugar. Beat until stiff and glossy.
• Spoon 1/3 of the whites into pear base. Add Poire William, if desired, and whisk until smooth. Quickly fold in remaining whites until combined. (Don't worry if there are some streaks.) Fill prepared dishes to about 1/4 inch from the top. Run your thumb around edge of dishes to make a groove. Sprinkle with granulated sugar if desired.
• Bake 10 minutes at 400 degrees, then reduce heat to 375 degrees and continue baking for 10 minutes. Serve immediately.