Sloe gin-poached pears

Makes 6

• 600g sloe gin
• 600g water
• 200g caster sugar
• 1 vanilla bean
• 6 pears
• 0 creme fraiche

Step 1
In a heavy-based pot just large enough to hold 6 pears, add the gin, water, sugar and vanilla.

Step 2
Heat slowly to dissolve the sugar.

Step 3
Peel the pears whole, keeping the stem intact if possible, and gently lower them into the poaching liquid.

Step 4
Cook at a slow simmer (bubbles no larger than of champagne or fizzy water) for 45 minutes to an hour – they should be soft when pierced with the tip of a knife.

Step 5
Delicately lift the pears with a slotted spoon from the poaching liquid.

Step 6
Trim a few millimetres off their bottoms to create a flat surface they can stand upright on.

Step 7
Put the pot over a high heat and reduce the poaching liquid by half.

Step 8
Serve the pears warm with drizzled honey, creme fraiche and a spoonful of the reduced poaching liquid.

Step 9
To use the pears in baking, let them cool completely in the liquid.