Finely crumble the chocolate, cut open the vanilla pod lengthways, scrape out the pulp and bring to the boil with the cream and chocolate. Conn. Cool in a cold water bath and keep covered in the refrigerator until the next day.
The next day:
Drain the preserved pears well, puree and season with a little pear brandy.
Before serving, the mousse is whipped with a hand mixer - like cream - until stiff and served with a little pear puree.
The interplay of mousse and pear puree is just great!
Tip:
You can keep the empty pod in a little sugar in a glass, so you always have vanilla sugar ready.