Pear sorbet with pear wafers

Ingreadient

• 1kg firm, ripe dessert pears, such as Comice
• 100g caster sugar
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 4 tbsp pear liqueur (Poire William, from good wine shops) or Calvados
• 75g caster sugar
• 2 dessert pears

Instruction

1. Make the sorbet. Slice the pears, discarding the cores, and put in a pan. Add the sugar and 100ml water. Stir to dissolve the sugar over a medium heat, then simmer for 15 minutes, until the pears are soft. Cool for 15 minutes, then tip into a blender with the lemon juice. Whizz until smooth. Cool and stir in the liqueur.
2. Freeze in an ice cream maker following the manufacturer’s instructions. (Or put in a freezerproof container, cover, and freeze for 2 hours. Fork over to break up the ice crystals and freeze for a further hour.)
3. Meanwhile, make the pear wafers. Preheat the oven to 110°C/fan90°C/gas 1/4. Put the sugar and 50ml water in a pan over a low heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Increase the heat and boil for 2-3 minutes. Cool.
4. Use a mandolin to slice the pears very thinly (there’s no need to peel, destalk or core them). Discard any small outer slices. Coat the slices in the syrup, then lay on a lined baking tray and bake for 2 hours, turning halfway, until dried and crisp. Peel off the paper to prevent them sticking, then lay them back on the paper to cool and crisp up further.
5. If you haven’t made the sorbet in a machine, transfer to a processor and whizz until smooth. Put back in the container and freeze until needed.
6. To serve, transfer the sorbet to the fridge for 10 minutes. Scoop into bowls and decorate with a pear wafer.