Whole poached pears make an elegant dinner party dessert, with a nice dark chocolate sauce and fragrant cinnamon and some vanilla ice-cream.

Serves 4

You will need:

For the pears

Lamb Brand Castor Sugar 500g

Lamb Brand Cinnamon Stick 1

Lamb Brand Cloves 4

Lamb Brand Star Anise 1

Lemon Zest 2 strips

Pears 4 large or 8 small, peeled with stalk on

Piece root ginger, peeled and sliced

For the chocolate sauce

Lamb Brand Ground Cinnamon, pinch

Icam Dark Chocolate 75g

Fresh Cream 75ml

All you have to do is:

To make the poached pears, place all the ingredients except the pears into a small saucepan. Half fill the pan with water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes to infuse then drop in pears, cover and gently poach for about 20-30 minutes until soft.Turn off the heat and set aside.

To make the chocolate sauce, tip the chocolate drops and cream into a small pan and heat together until you have a sauce, stirring constantly.

To serve, drain the pears and holding them by the stem, dip them in the chocolate sauce to completely cover.

Serve on a plate and you can also serve with vanilla ice-cream.