This is one of Apicius‘ beloved recipes and it was documented in his famous De re coquinaria. It seems to have been very  popular in Palatinate and along the river  Rhine –  the pears they used were possibly the Petit Muscat known as the Superba by Pliny and grown in this area at the time. It was a very small pear with yellowish flesh, not very sweet but with a pleasant musky flavour. Pears were and still are very popular in Germany and after a substantial meal of pork and cabbage, Apicius liked to serve something light and fruity. A Pear Souffle is not only feather light, but with this unusual mix of spices, exotic too.

Ingredients

• 1kg  pears, peeled and  cored
• 4 tbsp cake flour, sifted twice
• 6  large organic eggs
• 4 tbsp   honey
• 100ml  sweet  reduced grape must (the Romans used something called Passum)
• a pinch of salt
• 1 tsp freshly ground cumin
• A touch of freshly ground pepper
• Butter for greasing

Method

• Pre-heat oven to 200 C
• Season the pears with a little salt, the pepper and the cumin and bake  in the oven until they are quite soft and falling apart.
• Puree them with the honey and the sauce from the oven dish.
• Sift the flour a third time and add to the pear mixture.
• Whisk the egg yolks well and pour into the pear mixture .
• Whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form and fold into the pear and yolk mixure carefully, pouring carefully into a soufflé dish or individual small soufflé dishes.
• Turn the heat down to 180 C and bake for 30 minutes or until just well risen and just set in a Bain Marie.
• Serve with whipped cream or chocolate sauce for a modern touch.