Pear-Blueberry Crumble with Poached Pears and Vanilla Cream

Crumble Preparation

• 1
  Mix flour, rolled oats, almonds, 150 g butter, 100 g sugar, and 8 g vanilla sugar until a crumbly consistency is achieved, then set aside. Optionally, you can add some cinnamon.
• 2
  In a bowl, mix 530 g pears (sliced thinly), 100 g blueberries, 50 g sugar, 8 g vanilla sugar, lemon juice, and 20 g pudding powder.
• 3
  Preheat the oven to 180 °C top/bottom heat. Grease a baking dish (approx. 24–26 cm diameter) with a little butter.
• 4
  Spread the fruit mixture evenly on the bottom of the dish and sprinkle with the crumble topping.
• 5
  Bake the crumble in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes until golden brown.

Vanilla Cream Preparation

• 1
  In a bowl, whisk 30 g pudding powder, 45 g sugar, 4 g vanilla sugar, and 2 egg yolks until smooth. Bring the milk to a boil and remove it from the heat. Stir about half of the hot milk into the pudding mixture, then return it to the remaining milk. Bring to a brief boil over low heat, stirring constantly, and continue stirring vigorously for about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 25 g butter with an immersion blender. Cover directly on the surface with cling film and let cool to room temperature in the refrigerator.
• 2
  Once the pudding has reached room temperature, whisk it briefly and carefully fold in the stiffly whipped cream with a spatula.

Poached Pears Preparation and Serving

• 1
  Bring 500 ml water, port wine, 50 g sugar, the cinnamon stick, and star anise to a boil for about 5 minutes. Add 800 g peeled, whole pears and 90 g blueberries and let them simmer over low heat for about 25–30 minutes (they should be soft but not mushy).
• 2
  Carefully remove the pears from the liquid and place them in a bowl of ice water for 30 seconds. Then drain them. Continue to reduce the syrup in the pot until it thickens.
• 3
  Serve the warm crumble in bowls. Top with a dollop of vanilla cream and a poached pear, then drizzle with the reduced syrup.