Slow-Baked Honey Wine Pears

Heat the oven to 250ºF/120ºC. Peel the pears from top to bottom, leaving the stem intact and lay them in a lidded oven-proof dish just large enough to hold them. Bring the wine and honey to a boil, cover the pears, cover, and transfer to the oven. Bake four to five hours, turning now and again, until very tender.

Gently remove the pears to a serving bowl with a slotted spoon. Boil the liquid rapidly until reduced to syrup, about 20 minutes. Pour over the pears and reserve at room temperature several hours, or cover and refrigerate until about an hour before serving. Serve with whipped cream which you have sweetened with a little sugar and flavoured with Cognac.