Canned Pears For Chocolate Pear Pudding

Asked by GoddessInProgress. Answered on 13th April 2016

Full question

I would like to make Nigella's Chocolate Pear Pudding and I know her recipe calls for pear halves in juice. Unfortunately, all I have on hand right now is pear halves in heavy syrup. I suppose I could rinse the pears off before lining them in the pan, but should I also reduce the amount of sugar used in the batter? Thanks so much!

Our answer

Nigella's Chocolate Pear Pudding (from NIGELLA EXPRESS) has pears topped with a warm chocolate sponge. The recipe uses canned pears for speed and ease and pears canned in juice are preferred.

However if pears in syrup are your only option then it is fine to use these, though they may be a little sweeter than the type canned in juice. However the difference is probably not enough to reduce the sugar in the chocolate sponge, and reducing the sugar can affect the texture of the sponge. It is probably not necessary to rinse the pears in syrup, but you can do this if you like, and make sure that the pears are drained thoroughly before using.