SERVES 4

250ml dry Marsala wine
100g sugar
2 tbsp honey
1 star anise
2 cloves
1 stick of cinnamon
1 tbsp lemon juice
4 pears, peeled with the stem still attached
200ml marscapone, to serve

• Place the Marsala wine, sugar, honey, star anise, cloves, cinnamon and lemon juice in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and place the pears in the pan, standing upright. Cover the pan and cook for 15 minutes.
• Baste the pears with the liquid a couple of times during the cooking, until the pears can easily be pierced with a fork.
• Scoop the pears onto serving dishes, pour the syrup on top and serve with a dollop of marscapone.