Dark chocolate, pear and hazelnut pudding with vanilla cream

Nothing is more important on an Easter menu than the dessert! No one will be able to resist this decadent chocolate pudding full of poached Autumn pears, served with a rich dark chocolate sauce and delicate vanilla bean cream
 

Serves: 6
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 50 minutes
 

Ingredients:

• 4 Beurre Bosc pears, peeled, cored and halved top to bottom
• 1/2 orange
• 200g butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup self-raising flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 1/3 cup hazelnut meal
• 1/4 cup roasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped, to serve

Chocolate Sauce:

• 100g dark chocolate, chopped
• 200ml vanilla cream
• 1 cup thickened cream
• 1/2 vanilla bean

Method:

• Preheat oven to 180°C
• Place pears in a large saucepan and squeeze over juice from the orange to prevent browning. Cover with water and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes or until soft, turning occasionally
• Meanwhile, mix butter and sugar together until well combined
• Whisk eggs until frothy, then add butter and sugar mixture and vanilla extract and whisk until well combined. Add flour, cocoa and hazelnut meal and stir until well combined
• Pour batter into a greased 20 x 30cm baking dish. Drain pears and arrange on top of batter, cut side up, pushing them down slightly so they sit in amongst the batter.
• Sprinkle with hazelnuts and bake for 25 minutes or until a soft crust has formed but pudding is still slightly gooey at the bottom - try not to allow it to cook all the way through.

 

• To make the sauce, combine the chocolate and cream in a small saucepan and stir over low heat until chocolate has melted
• To make the vanilla cream, pour cream into a medium bowl of a food processor. Slice vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape out seeds using the tip of a knife. Add seeds to cream and beat on high for 3-4 minutes or until soft peaks form
• Serve pudding topped with chocolate sauce and vanilla bean cream.

Nutrition Information:
Average Quantity per Serving                            Average Quantity per 100g
ENERGY                      1973kJ (470kcal)                                               1083kJ (258kcal)
PROTEIN                     7.6g                                                                  3.4g
FAT, TOTAL                 28.9g                                                                15.9g
- SATURATED              14.6g                                                                8.0g
CARBOHYDRATE        43.3g                                                                23.8g
- SUGARS                    37.8g                                                                20.7g
DIETARY FIBRE           5.4g                                                                  3.0g
SODIUM                       250mg                                                              137mg