In season ingredient: Pears

Serves 4

4 pears

80g dark chocolate, roughly chopped

2 tbsp roasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped

40g butter

4 sheets filo pastry

20g butter (extra)

1 tbsp golden syrup

caramel custard, to serve

1 Preheat oven to 180C. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Using an apple corer, remove core from the base of each pear, leaving stalk intact. Combine chocolate and hazelnuts in a small bowl. Spoon chocolate mixture into pear cavities.

2 Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Put 1 sheet of pastry on a flat surface. Brush butter over pastry. Fold pastry in 3, short edge to short edge. Trim 5cm from edge. Put a pear in the centre of pastry square and lift edges up around pear. Repeat with remaining pears and pastry.

3 Place pears on baking tray. Combine butter (extra) and golden syrup in a saucepan over low heat. When melted, drizzle over each pear. Bake for 20–25 minutes or until pear is tender and pastry is golden. Serve with caramel custard.

CARAMEL CUSTARD

1 Heat 300ml pure cream and one teaspoon of vanilla extract in a small saucepan over medium heat. When small bubbles begin to form around the edge of the saucepan, remove from heat.

2 Whisk 3 egg yolks and 1/3 cup brown sugar in a bowl. Slowly add hot cream in a steady stream to egg mixture, whisking constantly. Return mixture to saucepan. Stir with a wooden spoon over medium-low heat for 20 minutes or until custard is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon. (Test by lifting the spoon out of the custard and drawing your finger through the mixture on the spoon. The custard is ready if a line forms.) Don’t allow custard to boil or it will curdle.

3 Serve warm. Alternatively, cover custard with plastic wrap to prevent a skin forming and serve at room temperature.