Black pepper strawberries with chocolate crumble
- Published: 23 Sep 16
- Updated: 18 Mar 24
Francesco Mazzei’s strawberry dessert is a lovely way to finish off a meal – and a bit of a talking point with its unexpected ingredient. Sweet creaminess is pleasantly complemented by both the heat of the pepper, and the richness of the chocolate crumble – leaving you wanting more.
- Serves 4-6
- Hands-on time 20 min, oven time 15 min
Ingredients
- Finely grated zest 1 large unwaxed amalfi lemon and 20ml juice (or use a regular lemon)
- 60g caster sugar
- 200g strawberries, hulled and quartered
- 160ml double cream
- 160g mascarpone
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 20g icing sugar
- Handful fresh basil leaves to serve (optional)
For the chocolate crumble
- 40g demerara sugar
- 25g plain flour
- 25g cornflour
- 40g ground almonds
- 15g cocoa powder
- Pinch ground cinnamon
- 2 tbsp free-range egg white
- 40g cold unsalted butter, cubed
Method
- Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4. In a medium bowl, combine all the crumble ingredients, apart from the butter. Using fingertips, rub in the butter until the mixture resembles large breadcrumbs. Spread over a baking sheet, then bake for 15 minutes until crisp. Set aside to cool.
- Mix the zest and juice, caster sugar and a good pinch of black pepper in a bowl. Stir in the strawberries, then leave to marinate for 10 minutes.
- Whip the cream, mascarpone, vanilla and icing sugar with a balloon whisk. Serve the strawberries (with basil, if using), crumble and cream in separate bowls for guests to help themselves.
- Recipe from August 2016 Issue
Nutrition
Per serving (for 6)
- Calories
- 466kcals
- Fat
- 35.5g (21.1g saturated)
- Protein
- 5g
- Carbohydrates
- 30.6g (23.9g sugars)
- Fibre
- 1.9g
- Salt
- 0.1g
delicious. tips
Make the crumble up to 12 hours ahead, then keep covered at room temperature.
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