Sexy pears

Whenever I come around the mouthwatering combination of poached pears and silky chocolate sauce, I can’t help but feeling butterflies in my belly. Not surprising, you would think, for a gourmande like me.

Well, not this kind of butterflies I must admit (blushing)… Couldn’t really explain why though until I stumbled upon that vintage french advertisement from the eighties for a world famous chocolate brand, and then I remembered: the very first awakening of my sensuality taste buds…

Ok, maybe that’s a bit cheesy… but, well, I was still very young and naive back in the eighties. And honestly, will the poached pears/chocolate sauce combi ever taste the same way to you after this? Let’s make a test…

Poached pears, spicy chocolate sauce and chocolate fondant…

Poached pears and spicy chocolate sauce
Poires pochees, sauce au chocolat epicee

serves 2 pers.
prep: 10 min. cook: 20 min + 5 min

Ingredients:
~For the poached pears
2 firm pears (I like to use Doyenne de Comice for their full round shape),
1 lemon,
100 g sugar,
5 cardamom pods slightly crushed,
2 pods of staranis,
1 tsp of peppercorns,
1 stick of cinnamon,
1/2 vanilla pod, opened in the length,
500 ml water,
1 Tsp pear liquor,

~For the chocolate sauce:
50 g dark chocolate (70% cocoa or more),
1 knob of butter,
3 to 5 Tsp of the poaching syrup.

1 ~ prepare a light syrup: bring the sugar, spices, the zest of the lemon and the water to a boil, in a pan just large enough to contain the pears and syrup.

2 ~ Wash the pears, and peel them carefully, leaving them whole. Pour over the juice of the lemon to prevent them to color. When the syrup has come to a boil, delicately drown the pears in the syrup, heads up, lower the heat and leave to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until the pears are still firm and get very slightly translucent. Remove from the heat and leave the pears to cool down in their syrup with the spices. You can prepare them in advance and refrigerate in a closed recipient, the pears should then covered in the syrup to prevent them from coloring

3 ~ Just before service, warm up the pears in their syrup. In a small pan, melt the chocolate and butter on very low heat and pour a little bit (3 to 5 Tsp) of the spicy pear syrup to reach your preferred consistency (I like the sauce a bit more liquid than in the commercial, so that it slides nicely along the pear leaving a shiny, silky, almost translucent chocolate layer…)

4 ~ Dress the pears, delicately, heads up and pour some chocolate sauce on top so that the chocolate slides slowly coating the curves of the pears. For the full pear/chocolate experience, serve with a warm chocolate fondant* on the side.

Bon appétit!

* Unfortunately, I seem somehow to have temporarily misplaced my recipe, so stay tuned… I promise I’ll come back with it very soon.