Honey Poached Pears in Puff Pastry

My horrible iPhone photo doesn't do this delicious dessert justice. Graham and I had our date night at home over the weekend, and a date night at home calls for a more elegant dessert. I saw this on pinterest, and even though it comes off as a very classy dessert, it could not have been simpler to make.

The syrup that the finished pear is sitting in is basically diabetes waiting to happen, but it was fantastic. It was really, really, REALLY good drizzled on top of the vanilla ice cream that we had alongside it. =)

Honeyed Pears in Puff Pastry
(Recipe from Sprinkle Bakes)

Ingredients:

• 2 small pears
• 1 sheet of Pepperidge Farm puff pastry, thawed
• 4 cups water
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup honey
• 1/2 lemon
• 2 t. of cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Peel pears and core from the bottom. Cut the bottom of the pears strait across, so they will stand upright. Set aside.
3. In a medium saucepan, combine the 4 cups water, 2 cups sugar and 1 cup honey. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. When the sugar has melted, add the pears, 1/2 lemon, and cinnamon. Simmer pears until they are fork tender; about 30-40 minutes.
4. When the pears are tender, remove them from the pot and allow them to cool. Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the poaching liquid. While pears are cooling, cut the puff pastry into 1/2" strips (I like using a pizza cutter for this).  
5. Wrap cooled pears with puff pastry starting at the bottom and working upwards. When you come to the end of a pastry strip, dip your finger in water and press to adhere to the next pastry strip. Continue wrapping until you reach the top of the pear. Place wrapped pears in a parchment lined pan and bake for 25 minutes, or until puff pastry is golden brown.
6. Simmer the reserved poaching liquid over medium heat until thick and syrupy.  Plate pears and top with syrup.