I had this sublime puff pastry pear and butterscotch sauce pudding as part of a six-course dinner at Cleopatra Mountain Farmhouse in the Drakensberg on my trip to the Kwazulu-Natal Midlands. As Richard Poynton, executive chef and Cleopatra Mountain Farmhouse owner says ‘this is the kind of pudding your granny would have made before she snuffed it.’ Well put.
I love the combination of sweet pear, buttery pastry, hot, sweet butterscotch sauce and cold creamy ice cream. This could literally be the perfect pudding combination.
Serves 6
For the pears and puff pastry
- 3 pears
- 500ml water
- 500ml red wine
- ready-made puff pastry (cut into rounds)
Poach the pears in the water and wine until tender. Cut the pears in half, scooping the seeds and central stem out, and place one half on a round of puff pastry. Bake on a greased baking sheet at 180°C for 20 mins.
For the butterscotch sauce
- 150g unsalted butter
- 250g demarara sugar
- 120ml double cream
Melt the butter and the sugar on a low heat until the sugar has completely dissolved. Any sugar crystals left at this stage will make the sauce grainy. Boil gently for about 15 mins until it starts bubbling and browning and begins to caramelise. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cream. Pass the sauce through a sieve or Chinois to extract any lumps and allow it to cool.
To assemble place the pears on puff on a plate, top with homemade vanilla ice cream and pour over the molten butterscotch sauce.
Serve immediately.
The photo and recipe are courtesy of Cleopatra Mountain Farmhouse.
