Hot Chocolate Custard With Red Wine Poached Pears - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 2/3 cups heavy cream
4 tbsp granulated sugar
3.5 oz dark chocolate, chopped
1 None vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped out
5 None large egg yolks
1 None large egg
4 None small bosc pears, peeled, stalks left intact
1 cup red wine
1 tbsp sugar
4 None star anise
1 None cinnamon stick

Preparation

Preheat oven to 300\u00b0F. Combine cream, sugar, chocolate, vanilla bean and vanilla bean seeds in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, for 5 mins, or until hot (do not boil). Remove from heat.
Whisk egg yolks and egg in a heatproof bowl until combined. Remove vanilla bean from milk mixture. Gradually whisk milk mixture into egg mixture. Chill for 20 mins then skim all bubbles off surface. Pour into 4 small ovenproof bowls.
Arrange bowls in a deep roasting pan. Add enough boiling water to pan to come halfway up sides of bowls. Transfer to oven and bake for 35 mins.
Meanwhile, to poach pears, place pears in a large saucepan with red wine, sugar, spices and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 5 mins. Remove from heat. Leave pears in poaching liquid for 10 mins then remove and halve lengthwise.
Top each custard with a pear and a little poaching liquid. Serve immediately.