Ingredients

• 8 firm pears
• ½ cup caster sugar
• 1 cup Marsala
• ½ cup water
• 1 vanilla pod
• Mascarpone cream
• 250 gram tub Mascarpone cheese
• 1 cup cream
• ¼ cup caster or icing sugar
• grated rind of 1 lemon

Method

1. Wash the pears and stand them in an ovenproof dish.
2. Put the sugar, marsala and water into a small saucepan and simmer until the sugar has dissolved. Pour over the pears and add the vanilla pod to the dish.
3. Bake at 160ºC for about 1 hour until the pears are firm but cooked.
4. Serve warm or cold with Mascarpone cream or whipped cream.
5. Mascarpone cream
6. In a food processor, process the mascarpone cheese, cream, sugar and lemon rind together until the mixture is like thick whipped cream. Pile on top of the pears.