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Poires belle Hélène
Serves: 4
Prep time: 10 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Tara Fisher
Poires belle Hélène
Recipe by Rachel Khoo
Serves: 4
Prep time: 10 minsTotal time:
See more recipes
Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
649Kcal
Fat
34gr
Saturates
21gr
Carbs
82gr
Sugars
82gr
Fibre
6gr
Protein
4gr
Salt
0gr
Rachel Khoo
Rachel Khoo burst on to our TV screens in 2012 with The Little Paris Kitchen and quickly gained a loyal following. Several TV shows later, she has also published a number of cookbooks.
Rachel Khoo
Rachel Khoo burst on to our TV screens in 2012 with The Little Paris Kitchen and quickly gained a loyal following. Several TV shows later, she has also published a number of cookbooks.
Ingredients
For the poached pears:
- 1 vanilla pod
- 150g caster sugar
- 4 firm but ripe pears, peeled, with stalks still attached
- vanilla ice cream, to serve
For the cardamom chocolate sauce:
- 200g dark chocolate, finely chopped
- 100ml double cream
- 3 cardamom pods, seeds removed and crushed
Step by step
Get ahead
Prepare the pears up to 2 days in advance and store in the syrup in an airtight container in the fridge. Make the sauce up to a few hours ahead and reheat gently in a bowl over a pan of barely simmering water.
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Pour 1.5 litres of cold water into a medium pan. Split the vanilla pod in half lengthways and scrape out the seeds. Add the pod and seeds to the water with the sugar and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar. Add the pears and place a piece of baking paper on top to keep them submerged, then simmer gently for 20 minutes.
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Insert a skewer or small sharp knife into the pears to test whether they’re tender. If not, simmer for a further 5 minutes. When the pears are cooked, leave them to cool in the syrup for at least a couple of hours, preferably overnight, to give them time to take on the flavour of the vanilla.
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To make the sauce, put the chocolate into a bowl. In a pan, bring the cream to the boil with the crushed cardamom seeds, then pour it over the chocolate. Leave to stand for a couple of minutes until the chocolate has melted, then stir the sauce gently until smooth. Do not over mix or the sauce may split – the cocoa solids will separate from the cocoa butter.
TipKeep the leftover sugar syrup in the fridge to use as a base for fruit salads or cocktails.
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To serve, remove the pears from the syrup and stand them upright on individual plates. Pour a generous helping of chocolate sauce over them and serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Chef quote
An elegant classic – fruity and light, while the chocolate sauce gives a touch of indulgence