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Snack

Pears Belle-Hélène

Pears poached in vanilla syrup, chilled, and served on vanilla ice cream with hot chocolate sauce poured over at the table.

⏱ 1 hr 40 min (15 min prep, 25 min cooking, 1 hr waiting) 🍽 Serves 4 · 1 pear with ice cream and sauce make ahead vegetariangluten free
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ContainsMilk. Check the labels on what you buy; brands differ.

Ingredients

Make 4 servings

  • Pears

  • 4 Pears, firm-ripe, such as Bosc
  • 4 cup Water
  • 200 g Granulated sugar, for the poaching syrup
  • 1 tbsp Lemon juice (bottled)
  • 2 tsp Vanilla extract

  • Chocolate sauce

  • 4 oz Dark chocolate, chopped
  • ½ cup Heavy cream

  • To serve

  • 2 cup Vanilla ice cream

Make it yourself

Make the chocolate from cocoa powder and cocoa butter yourself → Make the bean-to-bar chocolate yourself →

In the planner, Make it on the shopping list swaps the store item for these ingredients and puts the work on your prep day.

Nutrition

Nutrition coming: the USDA numbers for these ingredients are being added.

📜 Where it comes from

Auguste Escoffier (1846–1935), the Savoy (1890–1898) and Carlton (1899–1919) hotels, London.

A Guide to Modern Cookery (London: William Heinemann, 1907; the English edition of Le Guide culinaire, Paris, 1903), No. 2711, p. 780: “Poires Hélène”.

“Poach the pears in vanilla-flavoured syrup and let them cool. When about to serve, dish them in a timbale upon a layer of vanilla ice-cream, sprinkled with crystallised violets. Serve a hot, chocolate sauce separately.”

The original text, quoted as printed; it is in the public domain.

Escoffier printed it as “Poires Hélène.” The name is usually linked to Jacques Offenbach’s 1864 operetta La Belle Hélène; who first made the dish is not certain.

What we changed: We leave out the candied violets and give measurements and a simple chocolate sauce.

Escoffier did this work in London before Michelin gave out its first stars (1926), so no star ratings apply.

Internet Archive scan (Cornell University Library)Project Gutenberg textLe Guide culinaire, 1903 (Internet Archive)Auguste EscoffierPoire belle HélèneMore from the great kitchens →

Steps

You’ll need: saucepan that holds the pears upright or on their sides, vegetable peeler, melon baller or small spoon, small saucepan.

  1. Bring the water, sugar and lemon juice to a boil in the saucepan, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Add the vanilla.
  2. Peel the pears, leaving the stems on. Scoop out the cores from the bottom with the melon baller.
  3. Simmer the pears in the syrup, turning now and then, 15 to 25 minutes, until a knife slides in easily. Let them cool in the syrup, then chill at least 1 hour.
  4. Just before serving, heat the cream in the small saucepan until it steams, take it off the heat, add the chocolate, and stir until smooth.
  5. Set each pear on a scoop of ice cream and pour the warm chocolate sauce over it.
Make aheadPoach the pears up to 3 days ahead and keep them in their syrup in the fridge.
↺ LeftoversPears keep in their syrup, refrigerated, up to 3 days; rewarm the chocolate sauce gently.
🧒 With kidsKids can stir the chocolate sauce smooth once a grown-up has poured in the hot cream.
Dairy-free swapUse coconut milk in the sauce and a dairy-free frozen dessert.

Good to know

Heavy cream vs. half-and-half

Our own adaptation of a public-domain recipe, in our own words. Nutrition is estimated from USDA FoodData Central and changes with brands and portions.