Pear pancakes with chocolate sauce recipe

Preparation time: 45 minutes, plus 30 minutes standing

Cooking time: about 15 minutes

 

3/4 cup (110 g) plain flour

1 egg

300 ml low-fat milk

1 tablespoon sunflower oil

 

1/2 cup (125 g) vanilla fromage frais (Frûche) or crème fraîche

1/4 cup (25 g) ground almonds

1 tablespoon caster sugar

1/4 teaspoon pure almond essence

5 ripe pears

lemon juice

icing sugar

 

125 g good plain chocolate (at least 70 per cent cocoa solids)

2 tablespoons caster sugar

 

1 Preheat the oven to 200°C. Place the batter ingredients in a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Alternatively, whisk together, adding the milk gradually. Pour into a jug and leave to stand for 30 minutes.

 

2 Heat a 15 cm pancake or frying pan and add a few drops of oil. Pour in 1 tablespoon of the batter and tilt the pan to coat the bottom evenly. Cook until the underside of the pancake is brown, then turn it over and cook for 10 seconds on the other side. Slide the pancake out onto a plate. Repeat to make 12 pancakes in all, turning each one out onto the plate, and separating with baking paper. Set aside.

 

3 To make the filling, put the fromage frais, almonds, sugar and almond essence in a bowl and mix well. Peel, quarter and core the pears. Chop 4 into small dice; cut the remaining pear into neat slices and sprinkle with lemon juice to prevent discoloration.

 

4 Spoon 1 tablespoon of the almond mixture onto a quarter area of each pancake and top with a spoonful of diced pear. Fold over each pancake into quarters to make a triangle, enclosing the filling. Place on a greased baking tray, sprinkle generously with icing sugar and bake for 8–10 minutes.

 

5 Meanwhile, make the chocolate sauce. Put the chocolate, sugar and 4 tablespoons water in a saucepan and heat very gently until the chocolate has melted and the sugar dissolved. Simmer for 5 minutes, or until smooth.

 

6 Serve the pancakes drizzled with the chocolate sauce. Arrange the reserved pear slices next to the pancakes and serve.

 

Each serving provides 1424 kJ, 340 kcal, 8 g protein, 12 g fat (5 g saturated fat), 52 g carbohydrate (38 g sugars), 3 g fibre