Babas With Bosc Pears and Eau de Vie by Tony Bilson

Ingredients

• 250 gm (1 2/3 cups) “00” flour
• 15 gm caster sugar
• 7 gm dried yeast (about 1 sachet)
• 8 eggs, at room temperature
• 100 gm softened butter
• 100 ml eau de vie de poire (see note)
• 250 ml pouring cream, whipped to soft peaks with 2 tbsp caster sugar (1 cup)
• Poached pears
• 250 gm caster sugar
• 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
• 1 cinnamon quill
• 6 small ripe, firm beurre Bosc pears, ends trimmed, thickly sliced crossways
• Chocolate shards
• 200 gm dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), melted
• For dusting: pure icing sugar, sieved