Poach the pears and roast the almonds (20 min- Can be done ahead):

Peel the pears, slice them in 2 lengthways and core each pear half. Rub them with a lemon half to prevent them from browning.

Bring to the boil in a saucepan the water, sugar and vanilla extract. Add the pears and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until they are tender through (pierce them with a fork to check, it should enter the pear effortlessly).

When the pears are ready, take them out and reserve on absorbing paper. Keep 5 tablespoons of the syrup in which the pears were cooked for use in the chocolate sauce.

Dry roast the almond flakes in a large frying pan, shaking the pan regularly to ensure even roasting. When the flakes are nicely golden, transfer to a small bowl. Don’t leave them in the hot pan off the heat otherwise they will keep roasting and may burn.

Prepare the chocolate sauce (3 min – best done at the last minute):

Break the chocolate bar into chunks and place it in a small microwave-safe bowl with the butter and 5 tablespoons of the pear syrup. Melt the mixture in the microwave in 2 to 3 sessions of 30 seconds. Stir well after each session to even out the heat and help the chocolate melt. Dark chocolate does not take high heat too well so you don’t want to let the sauce bubble. If it does, or the consistency of the sauce starts looking grainy or splitting, stir in a bit of cold water and it will recover its smooth texture.

Prepare the Cr̬me chantilly (5 min РCan be done ahead):

A key to success is to make sure the cream, bowl and whisk are all very cold before you start. I place the whisk and bowl in the freezer for 5 minutes beforehand, you can also swirl a handful of ice cubes in the bowl for a minute or so before pouring the cream.

Pour the cream into the bowl and whisk it at low speed first, moving in stages to high speed.  When the cream starts bubbling, add the sugar and vanilla extract. Stop as soon as the whisk leaves well defined marks in the cream. Dip a spoon in it and turn it upside down. If the cream peak on the spoon stays up, the Chantilly is ready. If not, give it another whisking. The Chantilly should only take 2-3 minutes to make, don’t overbeat it otherwise you will reach the consistency of yellowish butter.

Prepare the poires Belle-Hélène:

Place two scoops of vanilla ice cream in 4 individual glasses. Top each glass with two pear halves and pour the hot chocolate sauce liberally on top. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons almond slivers on each glass and add a heaped tablespoon of crème Chantilly. Finish by sprinkling the remaining almond flakes on the Chantilly.