Serves 4

Ingredients –
4 pears, halved
1 cup red wine
1 cup water
1/4 cup honey
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp mixed spice
3/4 cup brown sugar
Rind of an orange
1 cup chestnuts, roughly chopped
60g dried apricots, sliced
1 cup thickened cream, whipped
8 sponge finger biscuits
1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste OR 1/4 tsp vanilla essence
125g mascarpone

METHOD –
Combine red wine, water, honey, cinnamon, mixed spice, sugar and rind in a saucepan; heat gently to blend. Add pears to the saucepan and poach gently for 15 minutes, covered, until just tender. Remove the pears and allow the syrup to boil until thick and syrupy.

Whisk together mascarpone, cream and vanilla. Place the vanilla cream into a serving bowl, top with syrupy pears, biscuits, dried apricots and chopped chestnuts. Firm pears suitable for poaching include corella, buerre bosc and nashi.

Chestnuts Australia, April 2009