Serves 4

Ingredients:

3 cups water

1/2 cup caster sugar

1 stick cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla bean paste/extract

3-4 whole cloves

Pinch of ground nutmeg

2 pears

Method:

1. Add all ingredients, except for the pears into a medium sized saucepan. Place over high heat and bring to the boil.

2. While you’re waiting for your ingredients in the saucepan to come to the boil, peel the pears. Cut them in half length-ways and remove the core (I do this by cutting a ‘v’ shape - use your knife to cut from the outside of each side of the core to the centre, underneath the seeds). Repeat for both pears so you should end up with 4 cored halves.

3. Once the mixture on the stove has come to the boil, reduce the heat to low so it’s gently simmering. Add your pear halves and cook until softened ~ about 10 minutes.

4. Remove your pears from the heat and allow to cool in the liquid in the saucepan. Store in an air-tight container in the fridge (in the liquid) until ready to serve.

5. To serve: place a scoop of ice-cream (I like vanilla bean for this dessert) into a bowl. Top with a poached pear halve and drizzle generously with the chocolate fudge sauce!

NOTE: If the chocolate fudge sauce is firm, just scoop some into a microwave-proof bowl and zap in the microwave for 5-10 seconds.