Pear crêpe with White Wine, Chocolate & Almonds

A variant of the classic French dessert Poire Belle-Hélène, adapted here for a Breton crêpe.

Preparation time: 20 minutes Cooking time: 20 minutes per crêpe

FOR EACH CRÊPE
80g (3oz / 1⁄3 cup) crêpe batter
2 tbsp chocolate sauce (see below)
1 pear, poached in white wine (see below)
A few caramelized almonds (see below)

THE POACHED PEARS
8 pears
750ml (1 1⁄2 pints / 3 cups) white wine
150g (5oz / 2⁄3 cup) brown sugar
1 orange, sliced
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1 cinnamon stick
1 tbsp honey

THE CARAMELIZED ALMONDS
2 1⁄2 tbsp sugar
50g (2oz / 5 tbsp) flaked (slivered) almonds
THE CHOCOLATE SAUCE
100g (3 1⁄2 oz) dark chocolate
100ml (3fl oz / scant 1⁄2 cup) milk

 To prepare the poached pears, peel the pears, cut in half and core. In a saucepan, combine the wine, sugar, orange, vanilla, cinnamon and honey. Bring to a boil. Add the pears and cook for 20 minutes over low heat. Remove from heat and let cool, covered.

 To make the caramelized almonds, cook the sugar in a heavy saucepan over a medium heat until the sugar thickens to a rich brown caramel. Add the almonds, stirring to coat. Remove from heat and cool. Break up the hardened caramel almonds and set aside.

 To prepare the chocolate sauce, in a saucepan, combine the chocolate and milk. Heat on low, stirring occasionally until smooth. Keep warm.

 Spread the batter onto the heated billig [or a large, non-stick frying pan] and cook until done. Fold the crêpe into a triangle and transfer to a plate.

 Spoon some chocolate sauce over the crêpe. Top with a poached pear and sprinkle with caramelized almonds.

Taken from the book ‘Crêpes and Galettes from the Breizh Café’ by Bertrand Larcher – Originally published in the FrenchEntrée Magazine.