Friday, June 29, 2007

Vanilla Pear Sorbet & The Austrailian Hook-Up

This is an aromatic and simple sorbet that's perfect for spring. It's like a vanilla scented Eau de vie, but in a tasty frozen treat form. Pears and vanilla are a perfect pairing that'll help finish any meal.

It's not always cupcakes here at Vanilla Garlic. Just most of the time.

Vanilla Pear Sorbet
Makes 4-6 servings

What You'll Need...

6 Anjou Pears

1 vanilla bean (preferably Bourbon)

3 1/2 cups of sugar or vanilla sugar

1/2 extra cup of sugar or vanilla sugar

5 strips of lemon zest

6 cups of water


What You'll Do...
1) Use a vegetable peeler to strip 5 strips of zest off of a lemon. Cut open the vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds. Place the vanilla pod and seeds, lemon zest strips, sugar/vanilla sugar, and water in a pot. Let it come to a boil so that all the sugar has dissolved, reduce heat to medium.


2) Peel the pears, and cut off a small portion of the bottom so they can stand up straight (for easy cutting later). Place in the water for about 10 minutes.

3) Cut the "meat" off of the pears and discard the cores and stems. Puree with 2 cups of the poaching liquid and 1/2 cup of sugar/vanilla sugar. Let cool in the fridge. Place in your ice cream maker and proceed via the manufacturer's directions.

Note: I highly suggest saving the rest of the poaching liquid, filtering the solids out, and adding and dissolving an equal part of sugar to make a rockin' simple syrup for cocktails later! Pair this with some Absolut Pear and ice and you are so made.
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Minh, my cupcake sister from Australia , sent me over a huge cache of Tim-Tam's (a popular cookie brand from down under), which are so insane shibby-good. They're basically two cookies with a chocolate filling, covered in chocolate. Then they come in a variety of flavors; raspberry & chocolate and the caramel ones are my faves.

Also, she sent over little caramel filled koala bears. Is it wrong I love to devour their little heads with so much joy?

Thanks a ton, Minh! Be sure to check out her blog and her variety of creative cupcakes!

9 comments:

  1. Hi Garrett,

    You clearly haven't tried the Double Chocolate Tim Tams yet! They are pure gold. And I don't know if you have heard, the proper Australian way to eat them is to bite two corners off, and drink coffee or hot chocolate through the biscuit like a straw. The inside goes all melty and delicious.

    I made myself sick on Caramello Koalas when I was seven and haven't seen able to look at them since!

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  2. I love my Tim Tams and I take them whenever I travel.

    I am filling up your next pack now!

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  3. That looks amazing, what a great combination for a sorbet.

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  4. This is good timing as I just got an ice cream maker. I think this is the first recipe I'll be making in the new baby.

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  5. this looks heavenly.... i adore pears

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  6. Sounds delicious!

    Cardamom is also a fantastic flavor to pair with pear sorbet. Usually I just get some pear nectar (Jumex or the like) and pour it into the ice cream maker with some cardamom powder. Nothing fancy, but oh so delicious!

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  7. I'm with Laura on both the double chocolate tim tams and making myself ill on Caramello Koalas (I was 9).
    Tim Tams are widely considered their own food group, they're just that good...I miss them

    Try the TimTam suck, with warmed port or rum instead of hot chocolate.
    It's worth it.

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  8. Great recipe..will love to try...thanks for sharing..

    Srivalli
    www.cooking4allseasons.blogspot.com

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  9. Tim Tams.. broken up, mixed with slighlty melted icecream, refrozen .... mmmmm

    There is a coffee place similar to Starbucks here in Oz who grind up the Tim Tams and add them to a milkshake .. ahhh heaven (bit gritty but WOW)

    BTW - Dark Choc Tim Tams.. the best

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Hey, you're leaving a comment! That's pretty darn cool, so thanks. If you have any questions or have found an error on the site or with a recipe, please e-mail me and I will reply as soon as possible.
~Garrett