Pear and Chocolate Pie

I really wanted to try making a chocolate pie, but I couldn't decide on what else to put in the pie. Someone suggested making a Poires Belle Helene pie, so I did.
 

Ingredients:

• 6 conference pears, peeled, cored and vertically cut into eights
• 1 tsp cinnamon powder
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg powder
• 4 cardamom pods, squeeze them lightly so as to crack their case
• 200g caster sugar
• 200ml water
• 200g dark chocolate
• 60g butter
• 175g flour
• 75g sunflower oil
• 50ml water

 

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees.
2. Place the cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom pods, sugar and 200ml water in a medium size saucepan and heat on a low heat and stir until the sugar is all dissolved.
3. Add the pears to the sugar syrup and simmer gently for 30 minutes.
4. While the pears simmer put the chocolate and butter in a bowl over a different pan of boiling water and allow them to melt.
5. Make the pastry by adding the sunflowr oil to the flour in a large bowl as you wait for the pears to poach and the chocolate to melt.
6. Once the oil is well mixed into the flour add the 50ml water and mix with a knife until a ball of pasty forms.
7. By now the chocolate will hopefully have melted. Give it a good stir to combine everything and then remove it from the heat.
8. Once the pears are done find a large oven proof dish.
9. Use a spoon to put half the pears spread over the bottom of the oven proof dish.
10. Next pour the chocolate over the pears.
11. Carefully layer the rest of the pears over the chocolate.
12. Pour about half the remaining syrup from the pears over the top of the pears.
13. Roll out the pastry into a shape to cover the oven proof dish and use it to make a pie lid.
14. Poke a couple of holes in the pastry and then place it in the oven on a baking tray (to catch any leaks).
15. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
16. Remove from the oven and leave to stand for 5 minutes before serving.

 
Serves 4.