Chocolate Pear Crisp

Directions

1. 1
   If you're going to cook this immediately, preheat the oven to 160C/ gas 3 while you cook the pears on the hob. Otherwise you can leave the preheating until you're ready to cook the topping.(e.g. I made my pear filling ahead of time, so heated the oven while I made the topping).
2. 2
   Peel (if desired), core and chop pears into small chunks.
3. 3
   Place in a saucepan with lemon juice and sugar. Bring to the boil, then cover and cook for 10 minutes. Uncover and cook for a further 8-10 minutes to allow the liquids to thicken up.
4. 4
   Divide between 4 ramekins, and if using, top with the liqueur.
5. 5
   Sift the icing sugar and cocoa together, then stir in the ground almonds.
6. 6
   Whisk the egg white until stiff, then fold into the dry ingredients. (It also works the other way round -- so don't worry).
7. 7
   When the cocoa sugar almond mixture is combined with the egg white, it should be a stiff dropping consistency. Top the pear filled ramekins with it, it will spread and puff during cooking so it doesn't have to reach the edges or be enormously neat.
8. 8
   Bake in the oven at 160 C/gas 3 until the topping is firm to the touch - 20-25 minutes. Serve hot or cold.