Recipe: Ginger pears with dark chocolate sauce

Ginger pears with dark chocolate sauce and vanilla bean cream. Picture / Eleanor Ozich.

Petite Kitchen's Eleanor Ozich creates an easy pear, ginger and chocolate dessert

During the Easter break, close friends came over for dinner.

I made this gorgeous and simple dessert using canned pears, a block of Whittaker's Chocolate and a bottle of cream, as this was all I could find at the dairy down the road.

It took all of five minutes to prepare, and tasted absolutely divine.

Luckily, I had a small packet of sliced hazelnuts in the cupboard, which I sprinkled on top for a finishing touch.

GINGER PEARS WITH DARK CHOCOLATE SAUCE & VANILLA BEAN CREAM

• 2 cans of pears in unsweetened juice
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp runny honey
• 1 large block of dark chocolate*, broken into pieces
• 1 small bottle of cream
• 1 tsp pure vanilla bean paste
*I used Whittaker's Dark Ghana. It tasted lovely. Try to use at least 80 per cent chocolate if you can.

1. In a medium-size bowl, put the canned pears and a small glug of the juice - just enough to keep the fruit moist. Reserve the rest of the juice for the chocolate sauce.

2. To the pears, add the ginger, cinnamon and honey, then toss to combine.

3. In a small saucepan over low heat, add a cup of the reserved pear juice to the chocolate pieces. Heat slowly, stirring until melted and lovely. The sauce will be velvety and luxurious. Set aside to cool slightly.

4. Put the cream and vanilla bean in a large bowl. Beat with an egg beater until thick and creamy, being careful not to over-whip.

5. To serve, divide the pears among bowls, then top with a dollop of cream, a good drizzle of chocolate sauce and sprinkle with the hazelnuts.

*gluten-free

- VIVA