Baked Pears with Wine and Walnut Cream

Pears are baked in a sweet wine sauce and topped with a creamy walnut topping for a fancy dessert during the holidays.

• Preparation Time: 30 mins
• Cooking Time: 30 mins
• Total Time: 60 mins
• Calories: 397 Calories

Ingredients

• ½ cup sour cream
• ½ cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 orange, zested and juiced
• 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped out and reserved
• 4 pears, peeled
• 10 fluid ounces red wine, or more to taste
• ½ cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 1 orange, peeled and juiced (peel reserved)
• 7 ounces shelled walnuts, divided
• 2 teaspoons dark brown sugar, or as needed

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Step 2

Arrange pears in an oven-proof pan with a tight-fitting lid; add red wine, 1/2 cup brown sugar, vanilla bean and seeds, and the peel and juice of 1 orange. Bring pear mixture to a boil; sprinkle with half the walnuts.

Step 3

Bake the pear mixture in the preheated oven until pears are tender, 20 to 30 minutes, basting pears with red wine syrup every 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool; remove the vanilla bean and orange peel from the red wine syrup.

Step 4

Arrange the remaining walnuts on a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven until toasted and fragrant, 5 minutes.

Step 5

Place the toasted walnuts in a food processor and pour in the red wine syrup; pulse until paste-like consistency. Transfer to a bowl. Whisk cream, sour cream, zest and juice of 1 orange, and 2 teaspoons brown sugar into walnut-red wine paste until smooth.

Step 6

Serve walnut-cream sauce over baked pears.