Pear Gelato with Dark Chocolate Phyllo Cookie

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DMBLGITSix of the juiciest pears that I’ve seen in a long time were just sitting there on my counter. I love pears, and I just about could have sat there and eaten all six. But, then I had a brain storm. As much as I love pears, I really love pear gelato. It’s my weakness. (OK, it’s one of my many weaknesses). Ideally, pear gelato with just a touch of dark chocolate. This weakness started many years ago when I first discovered Trader Joe’s. They had this frozen Prince William Pear frozen dessert with this dark chocolate leaf. It was only in stores for about 9 months, and I must have eaten a dozen of them. Since then, I’ve kept my eye out for it or something similar, but have yet to find it. These six pears, at the peak of ripeness, would satisfy my craving in a homemade pear gelato.

Pear Gelato with Dark Chocolate Cookie
Taking a trick from the Plating and Presentation class I’m taking, I decided to give the gelato a little extra with a dark-chocolate phyllo “cookie.” These are really easy to make, and add an amazingly light crunch to any dessert. It’s a perfect combination with a light, fruity ice cream.For the gelato, I combined a couple of different recipes that I found on the web… one for Vanilla Gelato (from Oprah.com) and one for Pear Ice Cream. The Pear Ice Cream contained corn syrup, and while that may end up yielding a slightly creamier dessert, I prefer to stick with a bit of sugar and more of the natural sweetness of the fruit.Pear Gelato
Makes about 2 pints

6 pears, trimmed and cored
Juice from 1 lemon
1 cups heavy or whipping cream
1 t vanilla
1/3 cup sugar
3 egg yolks

Using a spoon, scoop the flesh from the peel of the pear into a medium bowl preserving all the juice. Stir in the lemon juice, mashing up any larger pieces of pear. Set aside.

In a heavy 3-quart saucepan, bring cream and vanilla beans to a boil over medium heat.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, with a mixer on medium speed, beat sugar and eggs. Mix in a bit of the hot cream mixture. Then, slowly pour the egg mixture back into cream mixture in saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, just until mixture coats the back of a spoon (do not boil, or it will curdle). Remove from heat and allow to cool for about 5 or 10 minutes. Then, stir in the pear mixture and refrigerate for about 20 minutes.

Once good and cool, transfer to your ice cream machine and follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

Dark Chocolate Phyllo Cookie
8 to 10 sheets of 8×8 phyllo
melted butter
1/2 cup high quality dark chocolate

Preheat oven to 350F.

Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment. Brush a sheet of phyllo with butter and lay it butter side down on the parchment. Then, brush the top, from the inside of the sheet out to the edges. Add another sheet of phyllo and brush lightly with butter. Repeat with the remaining sheets. With the top sheet, give the edges a bit of an extra coating.

Cover with another sheet of parchment paper, and top with another baking sheet (this will help the phyllo to stay flat). Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until it’s golden brown. Remove from the oven, and allow to cool for about 5 minutes. Then, cut into strips or any desired shapes (triangles make nice cookies too).

In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, warm the chocolate until just melted, stirring constantly to keep it from burning. Remove from heat. Using a pastry brush, coat the tops of the phyllo strips with a thin layer of chocolate. Allow it to set, at room temperature, or in the refrigerator.

Pear Gelato with Dark Chocolate Cookie
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0 thoughts on “Pear Gelato with Dark Chocolate Phyllo Cookie

  1. The pears really were juicy – they were Comice pears from New Zealand. But they were definitely better in the gelato, and mmm the cookie – yum!

  2. I’d just be happy with the pear ice-cream, but even better with the chocolate cookies 🙂 Beautiful creation, as always.

  3. hi, how gorgeous! i adore the classic belle helene combination of pear and chocolate. beautiful picture too 🙂

  4. I love the combination of pears + chocolate and your gelato phyllo creation looks wonderful. Have you tried Recchiuti Confections’ chocolate covered pear slices? I bought some at their shop in the Ferry Building Marketplace here in San Francisco. They are truly heavenly!

  5. Thanks all for the comments!

    Chanelle – Yes… it’s definitely worth it to get one! I love mine. It’s just so easy to whip up a batch fresh.

    Keiko – yes, the ice cream by itself really didn’t need much…

    Carolg – wow. I love your paintings! Very beautiful!

    Mary – no, I haven’t tried those… but it sounds great. Of course, there is so much wonderful stuff at the ferry building… it’s hard to choose!

  6. Hi Ms. Brown,

    Technically, you are probably right. Gelato is made from whole milk, but often cream is added as well. To make this a true, but still decadently creamy, gelato, you’d probably want to do 1/2 cream and 1/2 whole milk, and reduce the pear juice some. However, the amount of pear juice I recommend really cuts through the cream and makes it much lighter than a typical pear ice cream, and much more the flavor and consistency of a gelato… which is why I decided to call it that.

  7. Is it normal to get a Pavlovian reaction at the mere mention of PEAR GELATO?!? Excuse me, I didn’t mean to drool over the keyboard…

  8. you had me at the word pear. i love pear anything and gelato is absolutely no exception. absolutely delicious! yet another recipe that entices me to get an ice cream maker.

  9. Hey – two vanessas in a row! Welcome both of you!

    V1: I know I always do 🙂

    V2: I hear you! And do get one! I love mine!

    Stefanie – Thanks!

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