vanilla poached pears with mascarpone cheese

If you need a fancy-looking dessert that's easy to make, this is it! The great thing is that you can prepare this up to 24 hours ahead of time. The pear is fantastic at both room temperature and cold. Impress your guests with this dessert. It will look like you put a lot of effort into it!

Here's what you'll need:

• 4 ripe medium-sized barlett pears
• 5 cups of water
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup icing sugar
• 275g mascarpone cheese (small tub)
• cinnamon

Prep work (about 20 minutes):

1. Heat water in a small pot and and lower the temperature to medium heat just before it starts boiling.
2. Add granulated sugar and vanilla. For a slightly different flavour, add a few pieces of ginger to the water.
3. Peel skin from pears, leaving the stem intact. Cut the bottom of the pear so that its bottom is flat. That way it can sit on the plate without falling over.
4. Submerge pears in water, rotating regularly for 15-20 minutes and then remove from heat. Allow pears to cool. Pears can be refrigerated and stored up to 24 hours.
5. Combine cheese and icing sugar into a bowl and mix until well blended. Refrigerate.

Here's what to do (about 5 minutes):

1. Just before serving, place pear on plate. Allow pear to sit for a couple minutes. Use paper towel to absorb some of the water on the plate around the pear.
2. Place 1-2 tablespoons of cheese next to pear.
3. Dust with cinnamon and enjoy.