Pear and Dark Chocolate Crumble

A delicious autumn dessert combining fruity sweetness of the pears with the rich bitter dark chocolate and a hint of lemon.  Make sure the crumble topping has plenty of lumps and bumps to catch and turn golden brown and wait until the chocolate and pears are bubbling through the edges before removing from the oven!

 

Ingredients (serves 3-4)

 

4 pears, peeled, cored and chopped in to 2cm pieces

100g good quality dark chocolate

Juice of 1 lemon

150g plain flour

125g chilled butter

35g demerara sugar

35g caster sugar

Handful of porridge oats (optional)

 

 

 

Method

 

Butter a baking dish big enough to hold all the pieces of pear.  Toss the pear chunks in the lemon juice and arrange over the base of the dish.

 

Roughly break up the chocolate and scatter over the pears, mixing in slightly.

 

Make the crumble topping by blitzing all the flour, butter and sugar together or by working together with your fingertips.  Mix in the oats and save some for the top.

 

Top the pears with the crumble mix, leaving lots of uneven edges and lumps of crumble mix (don’t make it too smooth).  Top with the remaining oats and a spoon of demerara sugar.

 

Bake for around half an hour in a 200C oven or until the top is browned and golden with fruit and chocolate bubbling beneath. Allow to cool slightly before serving with cream or ice cream.