What’s cooking today: Pears Belle Hélène

 

This recipe accompanies this story.

The vanilla ice cream:

Yolks of 6 large eggs

¾ cup castor sugar

310 ml (1 cup and ¼ cup) full cream milk

430 ml (1 cup and ¾ cup) cream, not whipped

¼ tsp salt

Whisk the egg yolks in a metal bowl with ½ cup of the sugar until well creamed (a paler yellow). Set aside.

I used my little French heavy copper pot that my daughter bought me in France years ago for the next step; just use a suitable heavy pot. Add to it the cream, milk, remaining sugar and a touch of salt, on a low heat. When it is simmering, stir until the sugar is fully dissolved. Then, in a fine stream, pour it slowly into the beaten eggs while whisking briskly, until all combined. Return to a low heat and stir while it thickens and coats the back of a spoon. It must not boil, so keep an eye on this step until it is complete.

Most recipes will tell you that now it must go in a churner, but here’s what I did: place a metal bowl in a bigger bowl of well-iced water with lots of ice cubes in it. Whisk the mixture vigorously for 10 minutes or more while it cools down. Place in the coldest part of a freezer, covered with cling film. After every half hour I went back and whisked it some more, for, say, two hours. That’s as much churning as I found it needed, but if you own an “ice cream maker”, whatever that is, you’ll know what to do. Me, I’m an old-fashioned boy.

 

The pears:

Pears Belle Hélène. (Photo: Louis Pieterse, Kudu Studio)

Pears Belle Hélène. (Photo: Louis Pieterse, Kudu Studio)