Ingredients
Poached pear
- 6 conference pears
- 500ml water
- 250ml white wine
- 250ml sugar
- 1 vanilla pod
Vanilla crème pâtissière
- 350ml milk
- 150ml double cream
- 75g caster sugar
- 1 vanilla pod
- 1 whole egg
- 3 egg yolks
- 40g corn flour
Chocolate mousse
- 200g Valrhona dark chocolate
- 20g butter
- 250ml double cream
- 3 eggs, separated
- 30g caster sugar
Method
Poached pear
- Peel the pears and place the rest of the ingredients into a pot.
- Bring to the boil, ensuring that the sugar is dissolved.
- Place the pears into the mixture and cover with grease proof paper.
- Allow to simmer until the pears are cooked. This should take about 20 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and allow the pan to cool. Once they are cooled, slice the pears.
Vanilla crème pâtissière
- Place the milk, double cream, vanilla pod and 15g caster sugar into a pan and slowly bring to the boil.
- Beat the egg and egg yolk together with the remaining sugar until pale and creamy.
- Gradually add the corn flour to the egg mixture, only adding more corn flour when all has been incorporated.
- Strain the hot milk mixture and gradually add it to the egg yolk mixture, stirring continuously.
- Return mixture to the heat and cook slowly until the corn flour has been completely cooked out. This can take up to 15 minutes.
Chocolate mousse
- In a double boiler, melt the chocolate and butter together. Whip the cream until thick.
- Whip the egg whites until they have reached stiff peaks. Still whipping, gradually add the caster sugar.
- Mix the egg yolks into the melted chocolate, adding one yolk at a time so as not to split the mixture.
- Fold the chocolate into the egg white. Then folded into the whipped cream.
- Place chocolate mousse into a piping bag.
- Melt some extra chocolate and line a dome mould ensuring the chocolate is not too thick.
- Once the chocolate has set, pipe in the chocolate mousse.
Decorate as shown, with honeycomb to garnish.