Chocolate Panna Cotta with Caramelized Pears & Hazelnut Cookies

Heat the 70% Dark Chocolate (3/4 cup) in a bowl over a saucepan of hot water or melt in the microwave. When melted, using a spoon make swiggly decorations onto parchment paper or a silicone mat and then put into the fridge to harden until ready to serve.

You will need 4 medium sized dariole moulds. Heat the Heavy Cream (1/2 cup), Whole Milk (1/2 cup), Caster Sugar (2 Tbsp), Vanilla Bean Paste (1/2 tsp) and Unsweetened Cocoa Powder (1 Tbsp) in a saucepan. When it starts to come to boil, remove from the heat.

Soak the Gelatin Sheets (2) in cold water then squeeze out the excess water and whisk into the mixture. Next, put the mixture into the moulds and into the fridge to set until ready to plate. This will take just over 2 hours or can be made the night before.

Peel the Pears (4) take out the core. Slice into eighths and put the Caster Sugar (1/4 cup) onto a plate. Coat the pears with sugar. Put into a hot frying pan to caramelise. This should take around 5 minutes.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (160 degrees C). Toast the Toasted Hazelnuts (1/2 cup) in the oven for 4-5 minutes on a tray. Remove and blitz in a food processor until ground. Or you can buy pre-ground hazelnut meal.

Then cream the Unsalted Butter (1/3 cup) and the Caster Sugar (1/4 cup) together in a mixing bowl. Stir the ground nuts and All-Purpose Flour (3/4 cup) to the mixture.

Knead the mixture then roll it out to 5mm thick. Using a small cookie cutter, cut out circles and put onto a non-stick baking tray. Bake for about 25 minutes until they are coloured slightly. You want the biscuit to be hardened a bit on the bottom but soft on the top as when it cools it will harden. Leave to cool on a wire rack until ready to serve.

To plate, dip the dariole mould in boiling water to release the panna cotta and flip out onto the plate. Serve with the hazelnut cookies and pears on the side. Place the chocolate decoration on the top of the panna cotta and serve immediately.