Blushing pears with vanilla zabaglione

tir the castor sugar into the rosé and heat in a large saucepan over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved, 15 minutes. Add the pears and poach until they are soft and reach a warm pink colour, about 1 hour.

For the zabaglione, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, vanilla pod seeds and Marsala in a bowl until well combined, 5 minutes. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water (do not allow the water to touch the bottom of the bowl) and stir with a whisk until the mixture is creamy and thick.

For the spun sugar, heat the sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat, while stirring, until the sugar has dissolved, 5 minutes. Stop stirring when the sugar has dissolved and heat until the sugar reaches caramel stage – 160°C on a sugar thermometer. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly, 3 – 5 minutes. Using a fork, carefully spin the sugar around glasses covered with baking paper, secured with a string. Set the glasses aside to cool, 5 minutes. Carefully remove the baking paper from the glasses and slide it off the spun-sugar rounds.

Mix the vodka and gold powder together in a small bowl and brush the mixture onto the pear stalks as decoration. The vodka makes it easier to brush the stalks and still keeps the gold shimmer of the powder, which water does not.

To assemble the dish, place some zabaglione at the bottom of serving glasses and carefully top with the poached pears. Decorate with spun sugar.