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Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 2709, Poires Félicia, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Poires Félicia sets cool caramel custard around vanilla-poached pears, then crowns the centre with Chantilly, rose-tinted baby pears, and red praline, a splendid exercise in temperature, timing, and confident unmoulding.
Poires Félicia (Félicia pears with moulded caramel custard) teaches the discipline of a cold entremets: temperature is structure. The caramel custard border must be cold enough to stand, the pears cold enough not to soften it, and the Chantilly firm enough to rise above them without becoming stiff.
The original entry assumed a pastry brigade with separate syrup pans, prepared moulded custards, and enough small pears to decorate a banquet platter. At home, one saucepan serves twice, one 18 cm savarin mould makes six portions, and the linked Crème à la Viennoise, Moulée (No. 2641) and Pralin (No. 2352) remain finished preparations, exactly as the book intended. Separate pans were brigade scaffolding and can go. The clear and pink pear garnishes, cold custard border, Chantilly pyramid, and red almond finish are the dish and must stay. One cook, one stove, one evening.
When it lands on the table, the caramel-ivory ring holds glossy pear quarters beneath a white crest of vanilla cream, with rose-pink pears circling the outside and red praline catching the light. The decisive step is unmoulding: turn the Crème à la Viennoise, Moulée (No. 2641) out thoroughly cold, or it will not stand.
Poires Félicia belongs to the Parisian grand-kitchen repertoire of named cold entremets, not to a pear-growing region, and its feminine name denotes a composed presentation rather than a local household pudding. Its construction reveals the pastry brigade’s grammar: moulded cream as architecture, fruit poached in separate syrups for flavour and colour, then Chantilly and almond pralin added at service. The pink-red praline may suggest Lyon, where rose pralines have a strong confectionery life, but Poires Félicia itself is not a Lyonnais regional specialty.
Quantity
4 cups (950 ml / 950 g)
Quantity
2 cups (480 ml / 400 g)
Quantity
1
split lengthwise and scraped
Quantity
3 medium pears (about 1½ lb / 680 g)
firm-ripe, peeled, cored, and quartered
Quantity
6 pears (about 1¼ lb / 570 g)
peeled, halved, and cored
Quantity
2 drops
Quantity
1 fully chilled 18 cm (7-inch) mould, about 3 cups (720 ml / 760 g), of Crème à la Viennoise, Moulée (No. 2641)
Quantity
1¼ cups (300 ml / 300 g)
very cold
Quantity
2 tablespoons (30 ml / 16 g)
Quantity
1 teaspoon (5 ml / 5 g)
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| water | 4 cups (950 ml / 950 g) |
| granulated sugar | 2 cups (480 ml / 400 g) |
| vanilla beansplit lengthwise and scraped | 1 |
| Williams (Bartlett) pearsfirm-ripe, peeled, cored, and quartered | 3 medium pears (about 1½ lb / 680 g) |
| very small firm pearspeeled, halved, and cored | 6 pears (about 1¼ lb / 570 g) |
| red gel food colouring | 2 drops |
| Crème à la Viennoise, Moulée | 1 fully chilled 18 cm (7-inch) mould, about 3 cups (720 ml / 760 g), of Crème à la Viennoise, Moulée (No. 2641) |
| heavy whipping creamvery cold | 1¼ cups (300 ml / 300 g) |
| icing sugar | 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 16 g) |
| vanilla extract | 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 5 g) |
| Pralinfinished red and coarsely crushed | ⅓ cup (80 ml / 55 g) Pralin (No. 2352) |
Combine the water, sugar, vanilla seeds, and pod in a narrow saucepan. Bring slowly to a simmer, stirring only until the sugar dissolves, then cook for 3 minutes so the vanilla opens into the syrup. Pour half into a heatproof bowl and reserve it for the small pears; leave the remaining syrup in the saucepan.
Lower the Williams pear quarters into the clear vanilla syrup and cover them with a parchment cartouche so the exposed surfaces do not darken. Hold the syrup at the barest tremble for 8 to 12 minutes, turning the quarters once, until a knife enters with slight resistance. Lift them into a shallow bowl, strain their syrup over them, and cool before chilling for at least 2 hours. If they begin to soften at the edges, take them out immediately. They will finish tenderizing as they cool, and an intact quarter matters more than another minute in the pan.
Return the reserved vanilla syrup to the saucepan and tint it with one drop of red colouring, adding the second only if needed. You want a clear rose pink, not crimson. Add the small pear halves, cover with the cartouche, and poach at a bare tremble for 10 to 15 minutes, until tender but intact. Cool them in their pink syrup, then chill separately from the Williams pears. If the colour becomes too strong, dilute the syrup immediately with a small ladleful of the clear pear syrup. Ça se rattrape.
Drain both sets of pears separately for 20 minutes and blot their cut surfaces gently. Chill the serving platter. Dip the outside of the mould holding the Crème à la Viennoise, Moulée (No. 2641) in warm water for 5 seconds, dry it, place the cold platter over it, and invert in one confident movement. If the custard clings, do not shake it. Dip for another 3 seconds and try again. If an edge begins to soften, leave the mould over the custard and return the whole platter to the refrigerator for 20 minutes. It can be rescued, but only with cold.
Reserve 2 tablespoons of the cold cream, then whip the remainder with the icing sugar and vanilla until it forms firm but supple peaks. The Chantilly must hold a generous spoonful without looking dry. If it turns grainy, stop the machine and fold in the reserved cream a teaspoon at a time until smooth again. Do not beat past the rescue.
Nestle the drained Williams pear quarters inside the custard border, curved sides outward, building a low mound in the centre. Heap the vanilla Chantilly over them in a generous pyramid, using the back of a spoon to lift broad, soft folds. Sprinkle the surface with the red, coarsely crushed Pralin (No. 2352), then arrange the pink pear halves closely around the outside of the custard ring, cut sides down so they sit steadily. Serve at once while every part is cold and distinct. À table!
1 serving (about 370g)
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