Preparation
1.Carefully slice along the centre of the vanilla pod and scrape out the pith. 2.Boil the pod along with wine, liqueur and sugar. 3.Peel pears in the meantime, leaving stalks on them. 4.Add to the boiling liquid and cover, poach gently for 20-25 minutes. 5.Turn the pears once after half of the cooking time. 6.Remove the pears and let the liquid simmer for 5-7 minutes. 7.Place the pears in a bowl and let cool. 8.Whip cream with sugar until stiff and place in a piping bag with star spout. 9.Arrange vanilla pears with a little broth and 1 scoop of chocolate ice cream each. 10.To decorate, dab small dollops of cream in a heart shape around the ice cream and pears.