Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 190°C/170°C fan assisted/gas 5. Grease an oven-proof dish, approx 20cm x 30cm, with 25g of the butter. Set aside.
2. Place the remaining butter in a large saucepan and melt over low heat. Remove from heat then add the sugar and stir until thoroughly combined. Leave to cool slightly, about 10 minutes, then slowly pour in the beaten eggs while mixing with a whisk to combine. Stir in vanilla extract.
3. Sift flour, cocoa and salt over the butter mixture, then whisk in until thoroughly combined. Fold in chocolate pieces.
4. Pour batter into the prepared dish then arrange pear halves on top, pushing them into the batter. Sprinkle with flaked almond then bake in pre-heated oven for about 28-30 minutes, until pudding has a crust over the surface, but is still soft and sticky inside.
5. While pudding is baking, prepare the chocolate sauce.
6. Pour cream into a small saucepan and add the Butler’s hot chocolate drink portions. Heat over medium heat until chocolate has melted into the cream, stirring to make sure the bottom doesn’t burn and to help mix the sauce. Once ready, pour sauce into a small serving jug. It will thicken the longer it cools. If you prefer a thicker sauce, you can refrigerate it to help thicken faster.
7. Once pudding has baked, remove from the oven and leave to stand for about 5 minutes. Serve pudding while still hot with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream and generous drizzle of chocolate sauce.