Make your own homemade Italian soda with fresh pear syrup and top it all off with cardamom cream.
My house is full. There are four small bodies that fill it daily with their voices, loud and fun, quiet and contemplative. They fill it with their clothes, hastily thrown in the corner, discarded in the middle of the living room floor, mountains of cloth smelling of the grass and dirt where they spent their day. Their toys spring up from the rug as if their seeds were planted there and they are spontaneously multiplying. Yes, my house is full.
In all the chaos, I am keenly aware of the blessings I have been given, the life that fills my every day. The blessing of having them all here happy and healthy.
When friends who have been trying so long to add to their family unit, to fill their house will the joy and chaos and love that lives in mine reach the point where they go from being two to being three or more, my heart explodes for them. I know what is coming, and I know how grateful in the midst of it they are.
Jen and Darron are looking forward to welcoming a sweet baby into their home in just a few short weeks. Their lives are filled already with the waiting, the anticipation, the uncertainties, and the joy. Congratulations, you two. May your days be filled with sweet, small voices and your hearts be filled with love.
I’m bringing the finest seasonal pears, cooked down into a pear-infused simple syrup and turned into soda with the simple addition of bubbles, all topped off with a fragrant whipped cream. It’s nearly a float without being one.
Pears lend themselves well to this crisp, clean soda. If you’re one who likes your Italian sodas topped with cream, the slight hint of cardamom spices up this drink just enough for it to feel like fall. The pear slices that are boiled with the syrup can be used as garnish, or they’re just plain tasty to eat. For storage, remove the pear slices and strain the syrup into a clean container. Refrigerate until ready to use.
We’re celebrating with Jen (My Kitchen Addiction) by throwing her a virtual baby shower today. Head on over to see what everyone is bringing to the shower:
Bluebonnets & Brownies | Raspberry Lemon Fruit Dip
Sugarcrafter | Sweet Potato Cake with Honey Buttercream
My Baking Addiction | Mini Pumpkin Pies
Simple Bites | English Eccles Cakes
Stetted | Roasted Red Pepper and Caramelized Onion Dip
Food for my Family | Homemade Pear Italian Sodas with Cardamom Cream
eat. live. travel. write. | Goat Cheese and Tomato Tartlettes
Gimme Some Oven | Creamy Caramel Apple Dippers
Dessert For Two | Caramel Apple Cookie Cups
Bake at 350 | Soft Sugar Cookies for a Baby Shower
A Thought For Food | Fingerling Potato Salad
TidyMom | Apple Pomegranate Spritzers
i am baker | Advice to a New Mommy
Healthy Green Kitchen | Guacamole with Pistachios
Tracey’s Culinary Adventures | Caramelized Onion, Gruyere and Bacon Spread
What Megan’s Making | Apple Spice Muffins
Cookin’ Canuck | Gorgonzola Cheese Cups with Pear & Hazelnut Salad
Bellalimento | Frozen Berry Shortcake
Shugary Sweets | Caramel Apple Truffles
GoodLife Eats | Coconut Lemon Banana Bread
2 cups water
2 cups sugar
soda water
For the Cardamom Cream:
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
Place the pears, sugar, and water in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat until it boils, stirring frequently. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes to allow the pears to cook into the sauce. Turn off the heat and let cool.
Whip the cream, powdered sugar, and cardamom in a large bowl until stiff.
Add 2 tablespoons of syrup over ice (add the sugared pears if desired), cover with 1 cup of soda water and stir. Top with the whipped cream and serve immediately. Straws are best.
Makes 2 cups of syrup.
Thank you, Shaina! I am so blown away by everyone’s blog posts, and I was so surprised by the virtual baby shower this morning. I am lucky to have so many amazing friends. The My Kitchen Addiction baby has the best aunties (and uncle, Brian) in the world!!
And, I absolutely love the sound of these sodas… Cardamom is always a favorite with me, and the pear soda sounds perfect for this time of year. We will likely get a few pears in our fruit CSA later today, so I think I know what I’ll be doing with them!
Great Idea, Shaina! I want one. 🙂
I would drink a whole pitcher of these. Salute!
Quebec pears are everywhere now! Thanks for the inspiration…and I’m finally going to get to make your pear crisps from the cookbook. Yay!
What a great drink – perfect for a shower. What a great post for a friend as well.
Delicious! I love Italian soda, and I’ve never had pear, and definitely never had homamde – this looks totally tasty and awesome! 🙂
I love Italian sodas–I always feel so virtuous drinking them because they’re not overly sweet. Of course, the cardamom cream kind of negates the virtuousness in this one, but I’m sure it’s worth it! 😀
Wow I love this and what a beautiful post. Congrats to the new parents.
These look absolutely amazing – need to try this for ME!
Oh, these are perfect!
You can bet I’ll be topping pretty much anything and everything with cardamom cream now. That sounds fantastic!
These are gorgeous! I have some fresh pears on the counter right now that would be fabulous for these. Great idea!
The flavor combos in this Italian soda. Neat idea!
LOVE the ideas of these pear sodas…perfect for a baby shower.
So simple, yet so delicious! I’ve got to make this with my sodastream!
These sound lovely! Perfect for lazy fall porch sipping. xoxo
What a beautiful and refreshing drink! I can’t imagine a better way to wash down all of the lovely treats everyone brought to Jen’s virtual shower. I can’t wait to try it!
James is pretty excited about this post. You know how much he loves to make soda syrups, and I’m stoked too because I just love pears and cardamom together. 🙂
Thank you so much for working so hard to get this post up, I know it was a mess with silly internets.
Shaina these are beautiful and sound delicious!!………love seeing your kiddos smiling faces in your posts too!!
So fancy! I’ve never worked with cardamom…
How long do you think this would last in an airtight container in the fridge? I just made some to use with my new sodastream machine and it was delicious, but it’s going to take a while to get through it all. Thanks!
I’d like to find out more? I’d want to find out some
additional information.
You did a wonderful job! This post sound quite great.