Pear, Date & Dark Chocolate Crumble

Step 1: Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan-forced.

Step 2: Peel & quarter length ways and core the pears; then place the pears into microwave safe shallow dish.

Step 3: Mix the vanilla extract with the water and sprinkle the pears with the lemon juice and vanilla water; gently tossing to combine. Cover the dish and microwave the pears on high for 5 minutes or until just tender; drain the pears and place into a 6-cup (about 4-5cm deep) baking dish and set aside to cool, during this time you can make the crumble.

Step 4: To make the crumble topping; Combine all crumble ingredients in a bowl, making sure all ingredients are well mixed & resembling coarse breadcrumbs.

Step 5: Toss the dates through the cooled pears and sprinkle over the chopped dark chocolate, then sprinkle with the crumble topping over to cover the pears.

Step 6: Bake for approx 40-45 minutes until pears are tender and crumble is crisp and lightly browned.

Step 7: Stand for 10 minutes before serving with some ice cream.