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1
Preheat the oven to 400F (200C).
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2
Coarsely crush the cloves, star anise, cinnamon sticks, and peppercorns in a mortar and pestle or seal them inside a sturdy plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin.
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3
Peel, quarter, and core the pears.
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4
Pour the butter into a large, shallow baking dish that will hold all the pear quarters in a single layer.
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5
Add the pears to the baking dish along with the crushed spices, brown sugar, and cognac, brandy, or rum and toss to combine.
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6
Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake until the pears are tender (a sharp paring knife inserted into the center meets no resistance), 30 to 45 minutes, stirring the pears a few times during baking.
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7
(The baking time will vary depending on the variety and ripeness of the pears.)
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8
Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pears to individual plates.
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9
Scrape the juices and spices from the baking dish into a skillet.
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10
Pour the cream into the skillet and cook over medium heat until the mixture deepens in color, thickens, and caramelizes.
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11
Strain the caramel and drizzle it over the pears.
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12
These pears are delicious with Frozen Sour Cream (page 173) or served as an accompaniment to slices of Fresh Ginger Cake (page 42).
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13
You can use a softer pear, such as Comice, Bartlett, or French butter pear, but watch them while baking as theyll cook quicklyin about 30 minutes or less.
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14
The pears can also be replaced with good, firm baking applesGolden Delicious, Granny Smith, Pippin, Rome Beauty, or Winesappeeled, cored, and cut into eighths, and baked for about 25 minutes.
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15
If you dont mind the spices in the caramel, its not necessary to strain them out.
