Are you against reducing the sugar amount? I usually reduce abit of the sugar in a dessert recipe if I know it will not affect the dough. If the recipe calls for sprinkling the dessert after it's baked with sugar, I won't do it. Just lazy is my excuse, not necessarily the health reason.
Pears are naturally sweet when you bake them in any dessert...I would drastically cut back on the sugar if added to pear mixture.
We make pear strudel at home with phyllo pastry. It's our own recipe. And very fast. We only use a couple of tablespoons of honey. No sugar. The pears themselves are sweet. Naturally sweeter than apple.
He has made up desserts, by poaching pears in wine and balsamic vinegar. maybe abt of honey. That's it. No sugar needed, after all it's already in the wine.