Impress that special someone in your life by preparing a mouth-watering romantic sweet.

Watch a demonstration from the dish's creator - Lee Wilson, head chef at York's Dean Court Hotel.

Posh Pear Belle Helene will melt your loved one's heart!

Head chef at the Dean Court Hotel, Lee Wilson is the maestro behind this scrumptious dish. Click play on the button below and watch Lee create Posh Pear Belle Helene, step-by-step.

Posh Pear Belle Helene
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Ingredients
For the red wine and cinnamon syrup
Four cups of water
Two cups of sugar
Two cups of cooking red wine
Cinnamon sticks or ground cinnamon

A ripe pear

For the passion fruit syrup
A ripe mango, mandarin and passion fruit
Two cups of water
Two cups of sugar

100g dark Belgian chocolate
Icing cugar
One slice of brioche
One scoop of icecream
One chocolate wafer
Cocoa powder
Sprig of mint

Method
First peel a ripe pear - leaving the stalk intact
Put four cups of water, two cups of sugar and two cups of cheap, cooking red wine into a sauce pan. Add a few sticks of cinnamon or a few teaspoons of ground cinnamon.
Bring the mixture to the boil for a couple of minutes to dissolve the sugar.
Add the peeled pear and poach for 20 minutes or until the fruit is soft.

Whilst the pear is cooking -
Peel a very ripe mango and mandarin and prepare a passion fruit.
Chop the mango and mandarin into small pieces.
Simmer two cups of water and two cups of sugar in a sauce pan for a few minutes, making sure the sugar is dissolved.
Once the mixture has thickened into a syrup, pour over the chopped mango and mandarin.
Blend the mixture down and pass through a sieve.
Add the passion fruit and allow to cool.

Slowly melt 100g of dark Belgian chocolate in the microwave, taking care not to let it burn.
Put the melted chocolate into a piping tube.
Pipe a heart shape onto the plate.
Fill the heart design with the passion fruit syrup, making sure you don’t spill the mixture over the chocolate line.
Place the plate in the fridge.

Take one slice of sweet brioche and use a cutter or knife to create a heart shape.
Douse the brioche slice liberally with icing sugar.
Blow torch or grill until the slice turns golden brown.
Repeat this process on the other side.

Now fill a bowl with cold water and ice.
Check whether the pear is cooked, then refresh by placing in the bowl.
Leave the pear to cool for 5 - 10 minutes in the ice-water.
Once cool, use a small spoon to remove any unwanted seeds.
Make sure you work from the bottom up and leave the pear’s stalk intact.
Dab the pear with a cloth to remove excess water. Using a sharp knife, score downwards from the top of the pear to its base every 3 - 4 milimetres all the way round.
Stand the pear up straight and twist to create a rose-like shape.

To arrange the sweet on the plate, first place the golden brown slice of brioche to the left of the passion fruit syrup heart.
Now place the pear to the right of the heart - maintaining the rose shape.
Prepare an ice-cream scoop in a container of hot water.
Place a scoop of chocolate ice cream on top of the slice of brioche.
Make sure the ice cream sits on the brioche in a neat round shape.
Place a thin square of dark chocolate on top of the ice cream.
You can decorate this dish with whatever chocolate fancies you have handy.
Finally sprinkle with cocoa powder and garnish with a sprig of mint.
Voila! Now serve to your loved one and watch their enjoyment. Even better - why not spoil yourself by digging in too!

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