Michel Roux Jr’s poached pears with chocolate almond sauce
- Published: 20 Sep 22
- Updated: 26 May 25
Looking for an easy dinner party dessert? Look no further! Michel Roux Jr says “I love poached pears – they’re so versatile. This recipe has vanilla in the syrup, but you could use cinnamon, allspice and star anise, or flavour the syrup with wine or a little bit of lemon zest. There are a hundred and one different ways to poach a pear. And don’t throw away the poaching syrup – you can use it as a cordial or in a cocktail.”
For more pear recipes, have a browse through our collection of ideas here.
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Serves 4 -
Hands-on time 20 min, cooking time 20 min
Nutrition
- Calories
- 486kcals
- Fat
- 20.7g (8.2g saturated)
- Protein
- 8.3g
- Carbohydrates
- 63g (60.9g sugars)
- Fibre
- 6.8g
delicious. tips
Baking paper that’s cut to fit inside a pan, covering the contents, is known as a cartouche – it allows the pears to cook without the liquid reducing too much. Make sure the baking paper is touching the surface of the liquid.
You can cook the pears and make the chocolate sauce up to 3 days in advance. Cover and keep separately in the fridge (leave the pears in the syrup). Melt the sauce slowly in the microwave or in a double boiler and gently warm the pears through in the syrup before serving.
Michel says: “Poached pears were something of a regular dessert at the old Le Gavroche, run by my dad and uncle, and they still feature in the restaurant today. We had them on the menu recently, poached in red wine. It’s something you don’t see enough on menus. This recipe is similar to one I’ve taught at cookery school Sauce by The Langham, where I’ve had people say, “There’s no milk or cream in your chocolate sauce?” “Trust me,” I say, and people are blown away because the chocolate’s intense flavour comes through so well. I’m a huge fan of dark chocolate and in this sauce, it’s not masked by anything else”