Baked pears with honey and cardamom ice cream

Babiche Martens

Use manuka honey in the ice cream for the sweetness, and cardamom adds a lovely flavour to the mix.

Honey cardamom icecream

8	Eggs, yolks
½ cup	Manuka honey
2 cups	Whole milk
1 tsp	Vanilla extract
1 cup	Cream
1 tsp	Cardamom seeds, ground

Baked pears

4	Pears (Main)
½ cup	Riesling
½ cup	Water
1 Tbsp	Manuka honey
1 Tbsp	Butter

Directions

1. To make the ice cream - warm the honey to make it runny. Whisk the yolks, honey and cardamom together using electric beaters until very pale.
2. Pour the milk and vanilla into a saucepan and heat until boiling. Remove from the heat and whisk into the egg mixture, then fold in the cream.
3. Pour into a saucepan and stir with a wooden spoon over a gentle heat, making sure it doesn't boil, until the mixture leaves a coating on the back of the spoon.
4. Strain through a sieve and leave to cool before pouring into an ice cream machine and churning.
5. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 170C. Halve the pears and arrange in a lightly buttered baking dish.
6. Pour over the wine and water, dot with the honey and butter, then cover with baking paper and foil and bake for one hour. Serve hot with the cooking juices spooned over the ice cream.