Difficulty: Easy
Peel the pears, keeping the stems intact. Core them from the base and rub with lemon juice to prevent browning. In a saucepan, bring 1 liter of water and the caster sugar to a boil. Add the pears, simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes, then let them cool in the poaching liquid.
Break the dark chocolate into small pieces. In a saucepan, melt it gently in the milk over low heat, stirring with a spatula. Stir in the butter and cream until smooth. Keep warm over a bain-marie.
Drain the pears. Place a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream in the center of each dessert plate, position a poached pear beside it, drizzle with chocolate sauce, and drape a pancake over the top. Dust with icing sugar and serve immediately.
