Poached William Pears

(serves 4)

4 William pears, peeled and the bot­toms sliced off so they stand up
1 cup hard cider, or Perry
2 cin­na­mon sticks
1/2 cup dark brown sugar

clot­ted cream
short­bread cookies

Place the pears into the saucepan and pour in the cider, drop in the cin­na­mon sticks and scat­ter over the sug­ar. Put the lid on and bring to a boil, then sim­mer for 15 min­utes, turn­ing the pears over twice, on their sides in the liq­uid. Then remove them to a dish, turn up the heat and boil the liq­uid until it’s reduced to a syrup, per­haps 10 min­utes. You’ll have to remove the pan from the heat and let the bub­bles set­tle down to see what you have. If it’s dark­ish and thick, you’re good. Set aside until you’re ready to serve. At serv­ing time, driz­zle the syrup over the pears, and serve with a spoon­ful of clot­ted cream to each per­son, and a cou­ple of short­bread biscuits.