Amaretto panna cotta with caramelized pears

A couple of pears that looked good but tasted really sour were the inspiration for this dessert: I thought of the delicious apples used in this cake, cooked in butter and honey, and gave the pears the same treatment, adding a pinch of cinnamon. They turned out really good and could have been part of a cake, too, but I already had something chocolaty in the oven. My idea then was to pair the fruit with something silky and refreshing, so a panna cotta with a touch of Amaretto (an addiction of mine) sounded perfect – and indeed, it was.

Amaretto panna cotta with caramelized pears
adapted from the always wonderful Bon Appetit Desserts: The Cookbook for All Things Sweet and Wonderful, also inspired by the beautiful Love Bake Nourish

Panna cotta:
1 ½ tablespoons water
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
2 cups (480ml) heavy cream
75g granulated sugar
¼ cup (60ml) Amaretto
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Caramelized pears:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons honey
2 small pears, peeled, cored, cut into 1cm pieces
pinch of ground cinnamon

Start with the panna cotta: place the water in a small bowl or cup and sprinkle the gelatin on top. Set aside for 5 minutes or until gelatin absorbs the water. Combine the cream, sugar, Amaretto, vanilla extract and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir until sugar has just dissolved. Add the gelatin mixture and cook, stirring, for further 1-2 minutes or until gelatin is dissolved. Strain into a jug and cool for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Divide mixture into six ½ cup (120ml) capacity glasses or ramekins. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Pears: melt the butter and honey in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to the boil and bubble until it caramelizes a little. Add the pears and cinnamon and cook over medium-high heat until the fruit pieces are golden and the syrup is sticky, about 5 minutes. Cool completely.

Serve the panna cotta with the pears on top.

Serves 6