Chocolate & Pear Moelleux

I am not sure there is an equivalent word in English for the French moelleux. It directly translates as soft. I like to imagine it means more than that - describing the warm, soft and moist (best bit) of a slightly under baked cake. This recipe is the cakey cousin of a chocolate fondant. It could be served warm and straight from the oven but it retains its soft centre even when cooled. The addition of pear adds a lovely textural and flavour contrast.

METHOD

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200°C.
2. Lightly grease and dust with cocoa 8 individual, 7cm round moulds.
3. Peel and core the pear. Chop the flesh into 5-6mm irregular chunks.
4. Separate the eggs.
5. Melt the dark chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water (bain marie). Once melted add the icing sugar.
6. Take the bowl of melted chocolate and sugar off the pan and add the egg yolks. Mix until smooth. Add the butter and mix again. Then add the plain flour and the chopped pear and mix until all combined.
7. Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks. Fold the egg white into the chocolate mixture.
8. Fill the moulds with the mix to 1/2 cm from their top.
9. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 8-10 minutes. They are ready when the outsides are firm and set but the centre is still soft and runny. 
10. Allow the cakes to cool before removing from their moulds