Poach your favourite fruits in stock syrup to enhance their natural sweetness and flavour. Experiment with whole spices, herbs, red or white wine, liqueurs, honey, lemon juice or even chillies... Poaching is a great way to transform unripe fruit into a succulent and flavoursome treat. Firm seasonal fruit, such as apples and pears, make comforting autumnal desserts - try half-peeling the fruit to create pretty patterns, or use red wine for a dark hue and full flavour. Its flavour improves with time, and poached fruit should keep for up to four days. You can also find out how to poach blackberries, mango, lychees, rhubarb, figs and strawberries with these mouth-watering recipes; serve with a dollop of cream, ice cream or rice pudding.
A deliciously indulgent dessert from Giorgio Locatelli - pears poached in white and red wine with Mascarpone ice cream
Paul Rankin's indulgent dessert of luscious figs poached in a wine sauce and served with mascarpone cream is a dinner party special
Ruby-red grenadine adds a lovely colour and flavour to this elegant fruity dessert
A simple but elegant dessert from Curtis Stone, try this creamy mousse with Champagne-poached strawberries
A mouth-watering dessert from Curtis Stone - luscious mangoes and lychees poached in a ginger, rum and vanilla syrup
Autumnal pears are given an Asian twist with chillies and auburn-hued saffron in Roopa Gulati's recipe
Tender pears, crumbly shortbread and a sweet caramel sauce combine to tempting effect in Jacqueline Crawford's dessert recipe
Here's two handy recipes in one: a speedy stovetop version of rice pudding, plus a twist on classic poached pears.
Try this for a summertime dessert: pears poached in sweet wine with a fragrant passion fruit cream
Rhubarb cooked in an orange-flavoured syrup makes a simple and delicious dessert in Janet Brinkworth's recipe
