It may sound like an unlikely “pear”, but it’s a heavenly pairing.
Preparation:
Cook:
Level: Easy
Serves: 9
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons Cocoa powder, divided
- 4 whole pears, peeled
- 4 cups The water
- 1 cup Caster sugar
- 1 whole The cinnamon stick
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla flavoring
- 1-¾ cup Flour
- 4-½ ounces, weight Unsalted butter, cut into small cubes, plus extra for greasing
- 2 tablespoons White Granulated Sugar
- 1 whole Egg
- 2 tablespoons poaching liquid
- FOR FILLING:
- ¼ cups Cocoa powder
- 6 set Egg yolks
- ½ cups Caster sugar
- ⅔ cups Thickened cream
- 1 tbsp poaching liquid
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 160°C (320°F).
Grease the pie pan and sift 1 tablespoon cocoa powder over the butter, spreading evenly so the entire surface is coated and tapping off any excess. Put aside.
Peel the pears and place them in a medium saucepan with the water, caster sugar and cinnamon stick. Place the saucepan over medium heat and simmer until the liquid is roughly halved. Remove from the heat and let the pears cool in the liquid.
In a food processor, place the plain flour, the remaining 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder, the salted butter (cut into small cubes) and the white granulated sugar. Blitz briefly to combine.
Add the egg and 2 tablespoons of poaching liquid to the food processor. Mix until the dough comes together in one large section.
Sprinkle your bench with a small amount of cocoa powder, invert your dough onto your bench, knead it several times to bring the dough together, then roll it out to about 2-3mm thick.
Carefully place the dough into the prepared pie pan and press firmly into the corners. Using a sharp knife, cut off the excess that overhangs the edge of the pie pan and place in the oven to bake for 20 minutes.
Remove the pie from the oven and set aside.
For the filling, put the cocoa powder, egg yolks, caster sugar, heavy cream and 1 tablespoon of poaching liquid in a large saucepan. Whisk gently over low heat until the sugar has melted into the custard but do not let the mixture boil. Let cool.
Remove the pears from the cooking juices and cut them in the middle. Carefully remove the core with a spoon and place cut side down on the pie shell. Repeat until all pears have been halved.
When satisfied with the arrangement of pears, pour the custard through a sieve and into a pouring pitcher, then gently pour the custard around the pears. Return to oven for 25 minutes.
To prevent the custard from cracking as it cools, open the oven door slightly and allow the pie to cool inside for about 30 minutes before removing and bringing to room temperature.
