Baked Cinnamon Pears with Coconut Cream Recipe

What Is Baked Cinnamon Pears with Coconut Cream?

Baking fruit cut-side up is one of the oldest ways to turn it into dessert, since the hollow left by the core catches syrup and juices and reduces them right into the flesh. This version skips the butter-and-oat crumble that usually tops a baked pear and serves it instead with cold whipped coconut cream, letting the hot-cold contrast do the work a crust normally would. Almost all the sweetness comes from the pears as they roast.

What Makes This Recipe Anti-Inflammatory?

Pears carry most of their fiber and pectin in the skin, left on here rather than peeled away. Cinnamon is dried tree bark, and its active compound, cinnamaldehyde, is one of the more studied spice compounds in inflammation research, used here in a full teaspoon rather than a token dusting. Coconut cream brings medium-chain fats, giving the topping its body without dairy.

The whole dessert holds one tablespoon of maple syrup brushed across four pears and one more whipped into the cream, a fraction of what a baked dessert usually carries, with the rest coming from the pears’ own sugars as they caramelize. Every ingredient is compliant with the AIP elimination phase. There are no grains, legumes, nightshades, dairy, eggs, nuts, seeds or seed-based spices, and maple syrup is the only added sweetener, permitted in place of refined sugar.

Ingredients

• 4 ripe but firm pears, halved and cored
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup, divided
• 1 pinch sea salt
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup coconut cream, chilled

Directions

Step 1

Heat the oven to 375°F.

Step 2

Halve each pear lengthwise and scoop out the core with a teaspoon or melon baller. This leaves a neat hollow that catches the syrup instead of letting it run onto the dish.

Step 3

Brush the cut sides with the coconut oil, dust with the cinnamon and salt, and drizzle 1 tablespoon of the maple syrup over the halves.

Step 4

Arrange the pears cut side up in a baking dish and pour the water into the bottom. It steams the pears from below, so the flesh softens through before the tops dry out.

Step 5

Bake for 25 minutes, until a knife slides into the thickest part with no resistance and the edges have caramelized. Ripe but firm pears matter here, since a fully soft pear collapses into sauce rather than holding its shape.

Step 6

While the pears bake, whip the chilled coconut cream with the remaining maple syrup until it holds soft peaks. Only cold cream will whip, so chill the can overnight and scoop out the solid layer.

Step 7

Serve the pears warm with the cold coconut cream spooned into the hollow. The hot-cold contrast does the same job a scoop of ice cream would.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

InflammaScore

1 Good! Very low inflammation potential

Q&A

Q1: Is this recipe suitable for the AIP elimination phase?
A1: Yes. Pears, coconut oil, cinnamon, maple syrup, sea salt and coconut cream are all permitted during elimination. A classic baked pear crumble tops the fruit with butter, flour and oats, all excluded, while this version needs none of them, and the only added sweetener is maple syrup, permitted while refined sugar is not.

Q2: Which pears hold up best in the oven?
A2: Bosc and Anjou hold their shape best through a full 25 minutes of heat. Bartlett works too if still firm, but a pear that gives at the stem will turn to sauce before the edges caramelize.

Q3: Why did my pears come out hard?
A3: Either the pears were underripe, or the dish was dry. Choose fruit that gives at the stem end rather than one that is rock hard, and do not skip the water in the dish, since it steams the fruit from below and keeps the center from staying raw.

Q4: Why did my coconut cream not whip?
A4: Either it was not cold enough, or the can held coconut milk rather than coconut cream, since only a chilled can holds air. Chill it overnight without shaking, then scoop out only the solid layer, leaving the liquid behind.

Q5: Can I make them ahead?
A5: Yes, for the pears. Bake them up to two days ahead, refrigerate, and reheat covered at 350°F for about 10 minutes. Whip the coconut cream fresh each time, since it stiffens and loses its lightness overnight.