Riesling Poached Pears with Pecan Baklava

By Christie Vanover | Published July 27, 2013 | Last Updated December 28, 2022

Zestuous and Chef Ben Vaughn hosted a live cookalong to prepare Riesling Poached Pears atop Pecan Baklava. The full recipe from Chef Ben’s restaurant and all the steps included in the video are below.

Just like you see on food shows, Chef Ben has everything pre-measured and prepped during the cookalong. You’ll want to do the same, so you can keep up with the show.

Below is the pre-show prep. Note: you won’t want to prep your pears too far in advance because they’ll brown.

Food Prep

No more than an hour before the show, peel 6 pears, leaving stems attached. Core them from the bottom, using a small melon baller to scoop out the seeds. Place them in a bowl and cover them with water and about 1 tablespoon lemon juice.

Place 2 ½ cups pecans and 3 teaspoons cinnamon in a food processor and finely chop. Place in a bowl and set aside.

Measure all the ingredients and have them in bowls nearby.

Make sure your Phyllo dough is thawed. Unroll it and trim it so it will fit into a 9X13 pan. After it’s trimmed, roll it back up, wrap it in a damp paper towel and return it to the fridge.

Prepare or buy a batch of whipped cream as an optional topping.

Equipment you’ll need

For the baklava

1. 1 medium bowl for the butter
2. 1 pastry brush
3. 9×13 pan
4. 1 medium bowl or pitcher for the syrup

For the pears:

1. 1 large stockpot
2. 1 slotted spoon
3. 1 large bowl

For the fondant:

1. 1 medium bowl
2. 1 whisk or hand mixer

For the assembly

1. 12 dessert plates
2. 12 forks

Riesling Poached Pears with Pecan Baklava

Prep Time: 45 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 12

Calories: 733kcal

Riesling poached pears are served atop a pecan baklava and finished with a sweet and tangy bleu cheese fondant.

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Ingredients

Pecan Baklava

• 2 ½ cups pecans
• 3 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 pound thawed phyllo dough
• 1 cup unsalted butter melted
• 1 ¼ cup maple syrup
• 1 ¼ cups water
• 1 ¼ cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Riesling Poached Pears

• 6 ripe firm pears
• ½ bottle dry Riesling
• ½ cup packed light brown sugar
• ½ vanilla bean split lengthwise

Bleu Cheese Fondant

• 1 cup Bleu Cheese Crumbles
• ½ cup Light Karo Syrup
• 1 tablespoon Granulated Sugar
• pinch Black Pepper

Instructions

Pecan Baklava

• Preheat the oven to 320 degrees.
• In a food processor add in pecans and 3 teaspoons cinnamon. Pulse until finely diced. Divide into thirds.
  
• Unroll phyllo dough and trim the sides so it will fit in a 9×13 pan.
  
• Brush the bottom of your pan with melted butter. Lay a sheet of phyllo dough on the bottom. Brush the top with melted butter and top with another sheet of dough. Repeat this process with a total of 10 phyllo dough sheets.
  
• Sprinkle on ⅓ of your nut mixture. Top with a sheet of phyllo, brush with butter and continue that process for at least 6 sheets.
  
• Top with another ⅓ of your nut mixture. Repeat the process of laying 6 sheets of dough, brushing each with melted butter.
• Sprinkle with the remaining nuts. Layer with phyllo dough and continue alternating with melted butter and sheets of phyllo for about 10 sheets.
• In a medium bowl or pitcher, combine the maple syrup, water, sugar and cinnamon.
  
• Pour evenly over the top layer.
  
• Bake at 320 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until it starts to get golden on top. Remove from oven to cool.
  
• Slice into squares. (Save the pan. You’ll want the syrup)
  

Riesling Poached Pears

• Peel pears, leaving stems attached, core them from the bottom, using a small melon baller to scoop out seeds.
  
• Place pears in pot along with wine, brown sugar and enough water to just cover pears (4 to 6 cups). Scrape vanilla bean seeds into pan; drop in pod. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat; simmer, turning pears occasionally, to coat with liquid, until very tender but not falling apart, 10 to 15 minutes, depending on ripeness and size of pears.
  
• Use a slotted spoon to transfer pears to a large bowl. Remove and discard vanilla bean pod.
• Bring poaching liquid to a boil and cook until reduced to a thin syrup consistency, about 10 minutes. Pour syrup over pears; let cool completely. Refrigerate, until cool.

Bleu Cheese Fondant

• Combine all ingredients in a bowl, whip until creamy, shiny and smooth. Refrigerate and reserve for plating
  

Assembly

• Place a warm or room temperature square of baklava onto a dessert plate.
  
• Cut the pears in half.
  
• Fill the center of a chilled pear with the cool bleu cheese fondant.
  
• Set the cheese-filled pear over the square of baklava.
• Drizzle the baklava pan drippings over the pear and cheese, for balanced sweetness.
  
• You can add fresh whipped heavy cream, sweet or un-sweet, based on your preference.

Nutrition

Calories: 733kcal | Carbohydrates: 101g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 15g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 49mg | Sodium: 331mg | Potassium: 340mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 71g | Vitamin A: 594IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 144mg | Iron: 2mg

The nutrition information is an estimate created using an online nutrition calculator