Cranberry, Pear And Chocolate Trifle With Pear Crisps

Mercy even with us is an optional virtue; we do not have to be merciful. We usually admire people who are, but we do not say that people must be so. We say everybody must be just. We say, for example, an employer, if he agrees to pay a certain wage, must pay that particular wage. If he does not pay it, then he is unjust and is liable to a lawsuit. All our contracts are based on the integrity and honesty and justice of people with whom we do business. They are actually subject to trials and imprisonment and even execution if they violate their duty of man to man. What about mercy among men? We love it. We admire it. We encourage it. We sometimes practice it. But we do not say mercy is obligatory… If this is true even of human affairs, we can see immediately that God does not have to be merciful. He gave us life and conscience. He gave us intelligence to meet our obligations, and He has a right to hold us responsible for using them. He has no further obligation to forgive us if we do not. We say that the Judge of all the earth cannot do wrong, but we cannot say that the Judge of all the earth must be merciful.

John Gerstner

CATEGORY	CUISINE	TAG	YIELD
Dairy		Food networ, Food5	8	Servings

INGREDIENTS

6		Ripe pears
8	T	Whisky
100	g	Caster sugar, plus 4tbsp
450	g	Cranberries, defrosted if
		frozen
250	g	Ready-made chocolate sponge
		cut into 1cm slices
50	g	Good quality plain
		chocolate chopped to
		decorate
150	g	Good quality white
		chocolate chopped
400		Fresh custard
300		Double cream
2		Ripe pears
100	g	Sugar

INSTRUCTIONS

First prepare the pear crisps. Preheat the oven to 120C/250F/gas 1/2
and line a baking sheet with baking paper. Without peeling or coring
them, slice the 2 pears very thinly from top to bottom. In a frying
pan, dissolve the sugar in 100ml water over a medium heat. Bring to
the boil, then simmer for 2-3 minutes.  Remove from the heat, add the
pear slices and leave for 2 minutes,  then remove with a spatula and
place on a baking sheet. Place in the  oven for 1 1/2 hours until just
golden, then cool on a wire rack.  Meanwhile, peel, core and quarter
remaining 6 pears. Heat 600ml water  with a quarter of the whisky and
the 100g sugar in a large pan,  stirring, until the sugar has
dissolved. Add the pears and simmer  gently for 7-8 minutes until just
tender. Drain and set aside to cool.  In a pan set over a gentle heat,
cook the cranberries and the  remaining 4 tablespoons of caster sugar
until the berries just start  to soften. Drain a spoonful on kitchen
paper and reserve for  decoration. Set the rest aside to cool.  Layer
half the sponge in the bottom of a glass serving dish. Sprinkle  with
half the remaining whisky. Arrange half the pear quarters on top  and
cover with half the cranberries. Repeat layers. Make the white
chocolate custard. Melt the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl set
over a pan of simmering water (do not allow the bowl to touch the
water), then leave to cool. Pour the custard into a large bowl and
stir in the melted chocolate. Lightly whip the cream and fold into
mixture. Pour over the trifle and chill until set.  To decorate, stand
the pear crisps in the top of the trifle and  sprinkle over the
reserved cranberries and chopped plain chocolate.  Converted by
MC_Buster.  Converted by MM_Buster v2.0l.

A Message from our Provider:

“Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.”

Nutrition (calculated from recipe ingredients) ---------------------------------------------- Calories: 531 Calories From Fat: 78 Total Fat: 9.7g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 45.6mg Potassium: 320mg Carbohydrates: 107.3g Fiber: 12.9g Sugar: 34.6g Protein: 3.8g