Pear & Chocolate Clafouti

 

I'm trying to think of as many pear recipes as possible that can be served over the short (but monumental, given the size of the crop!) period of pear harvest we're now experiencing, without it all becoming drearily repetitive: pear souffle; pear sorbet; Tarte Bordaloue; pear tarts; crepes stuffed with baked pears, with a rum/pear/butterscotch sauce; pears, diced fine and served with honey over yoghurt, for breakfast; pear cake; pear-treacle pudding; tartine perigordine ....and this. 

It's a standard dessert clafouti recipe, but with the addition to the batter of a small amount of powdered chocolate, which takes the whole thing to a different level. 

For four, standard egg-dish servings.

Ingredients 80g flour; 60g + 2 tbs sugar; 2 eggs; 80g butter; 150 ml milk; 1 tsp vanilla flavouring; 1 tbs brandy; 1 tbs chocolate powder; 4-5 ripe medium-sized pears. Icing sugar, for serving (optional)

Method:

1. Grease four standard egg dishes, and arrange in them the pears, which have been peeled, quartered and cored (If the quarters are large, divide them again into eighths). Sprinkle the pear pieces with the 2 tbs sugar and bake them for about 20 minutes in a 190 degree C oven.

2. Melt the butter over a gentle heat, and leave it to cool.

3. In a liquidizer jar, blend together all the remaining ingredients, and once the melted butter has cooled somewhat, add this also and blend again. 

4. Remove the egg dishes with the baked pears from the oven, and divide the chocolate batter equally between them. Return the dishes to the oven for 25 minutes until puffed and proud.

Dust the tops of the clafoutis with icing sugar, to serve.