This poached pear Champagne cocktail is the easiest way to turn leftover pear poaching syrup into something worth celebrating with. If you've made stewed pears for dessert, you already have the hardest part done, the syrup on the bottom of that pan is spiced, fruity, and just waiting for a glass of Champagne.
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A touch of luxury: Pear Champagne Cocktail
We like to eat stewed pears in winter when they are available again. With a bit of sweet sauce aside. The ideal dessert. But I always have some sauce left over. And that's what we're going to do today. We make this delicious poached pear champagne cocktail.
The deep, warm tones of the stewed pear sauce with the refreshing sparkling champagne and a hint of vodka are a beautiful contrast that makes your cocktail tasty. And it's an excellent way to use up the sauce!
Cheers to unforgettable moments with a glass of this delicious cocktail in hand!
This recipe was made for the food blog swap, inspired by a recipe from the Ohmydish blog.
What do you need for a Poached Pear Champagne Cocktail?
To prepare this Pear Champagne Cocktail, you require the following ingredients. You can find the correct amounts in the recipe card at the bottom of the blog:
Ingredients: Poached Pears with Syrup
- Poached pears: Use firm pears such as Bartlett, Gieser Wildeman, Brederode, Anjou pears, or Bosc pears for this recipe. Those are sturdy. It is also possible with a firm Conference, but there is a danger that it will fall apart.
- Rosé wine: It is nice and fresh and fruity. You can easily drink a rosé wine. It is made of red fruits. Use a dry rosé wine.
- Sugar: For sweetening the stewed pear syrup.
- Lemon: Gives the syrup a fresh taste and prevents pears' discoloration.
- Tangerine: You have several good choices. Clementines are a sort that's sweet and sour, with a thin skin. Minneola's have a small bulb on the top and are juicy.
- Vanilla Extract: For a hint of vanilla flavor. If you can get it, use natural vanilla extract, which has a slightly deeper flavor than artificial vanilla extract. With this recipe, you can make a homemade vanilla extract (and, if you bake a lot, it is highly recommended because you can use this for a reasonable amount of time).
- Aniseed: Has a sweet, fruity, and warm taste.
- Instant coffee: A complex taste with spicy, sweet, sour, and bitter aromas. Use a 'normal' coffee for a touch of flavor and an espresso for a slightly deeper taste.
Ingredients Pear Champagne Cocktail
- Poached pear liquid: This blog contains a recipe for delicious pears stewed in rosé wine. But you can also use the liquid from other recipes, for example, from these stewed pears with Port Wine Poached Pears.
- Champagne: This French airy drink is incredibly delicious with poached pear syrup.
- Vodka: Water and Alcohol based on rye, potato, or corn. This gives a neutral, strong drink without odor or pronounced taste.
How to prepare Pear Champagne Sparkler
You can find a printable recipe with a step-by-step description at the bottom of this blog.
- Put the wine, sugar, lemon juice, half mandarin, vanilla, peppercorns, aniseed, and coffee in a saucepan.
- Peel four stew pears and place them upright in the pan. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Stew the pears for 20 minutes.
- Remove the pears from the juice and strain the cooking liquid. Place two tablespoons at the bottom of a champagne glass.
- Pour in the vodka and top up with champagne. Serve right away!
Quick Version (No Poaching Required)
Short on time, or don't have leftover poaching syrup on hand? You can still make a version of this cocktail today.
- Simmer 1 cup of store-bought pear nectar or pear juice with a cinnamon stick and a strip of lemon peel for 5 minutes, let it cool, then use it exactly as you would the poached pear syrup below.
- It won't have quite the same depth as the full recipe, but it gets you a spiced pear Champagne cocktail in under 15 minutes.
Substitutions
- Champagne substitute: Prosecco or cava both work well and are easier on the budget. For a non-alcoholic version, use sparkling apple cider or sparkling grape juice.
- Vodka substitute: Swap in pear liqueur or pear brandy (Poire Williams) for a more pronounced pear flavor, or leave it out entirely for a lighter drink.
- Serving a crowd: This recipe scales easily: multiply the poached pear syrup batch, then build cocktails one glass at a time (2 tablespoon syrup + vodka, topped with Champagne) rather than trying to premix, since Champagne loses its fizz once combined.
Top Tips
- Ginger: Also delicious with a hint of ginger, in which you cook the poached pears.
- You can store stewed pears in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.
- Use firm, ripe pears for the best flavor.
- Garnish with a thin slice of pear or a curl of tangerine peel if desired.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I make the poaching syrup ahead of time? Yes, it keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days, so you can prep it well before guests arrive.
- Can I store the finished cocktail? No, once Champagne is added, serve it right away. Prep the syrup ahead, then assemble drinks to order.
- What if I don't have poaching liquid? See the Quick Version above for a 15-minute shortcut using store-bought pear nectar or juice.
- Is this cocktail very sweet? It's on the sweeter side thanks to the syrup, but you can reduce the sugar in the poaching liquid by up to half without affecting the pears' texture.
📖 Recipe
RECIPE CARD
Recipe Help
Two easy tools to make cooking even easier. Cooking mode keeps the screen on. The easy-step recipe displays the recipe step by step, including the ingredients needed. And you can adjust servings easily
Ingredients
Poached Pear syrup (and poached pears to serve for dessert)
- 1 cup rose wine, sweet
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 lemon, juice
- 1 tangerine, halved
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 5 black peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon ground aniseed
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee
- 4 pears, peeled
Cocktail
- 3 tablespoons poached pears syrup
- 2 tablespoons Vodka
- ½ cup champagne
All my recipes are written both in Metric (gram / ml) and US Customary (cups / pounds). Here you can select which type of amount you would like to see.
Instructions
- Put wine, sugar, lemon juice, tangerine halves, vanilla, peppercorns, star anise and coffee in a saucepan.1 cup rose wine, 1 cup sugar, 1 lemon, 1 tangerine, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 5 black peppercorns, 1 teaspoon ground aniseed, 1 teaspoon instant coffee
- Add the pears and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to low and let the pears simmer for twenty minutes.4 pears
- Remove the poached pears out of the juice and strain the poaching liquid. (Keep the pears and the remaining moisture to serve it as a dessert.)
- Pour the poached pear liquid and vodka into a champagne glass and fill it further with champagne.3 tablespoons poached pears syrup, 2 tablespoons Vodka, ½ cup champagne
Notes
- Use firm, ripe pears for the best flavor.
- I often make stewed pears from Gieser Wildeman pears (or other poach pears), but it is certainly not a must. You can poach any firm pear (for example, also a Conference).
- Eating a stew pear out of hand is not recommended. They are hard and dry, not tasty, and only edible after a long stew.
- You can store stewed pears in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.
- Fridge: You can store the stewed pears and the juice for up to three days in an airtight container.
Nutrition
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