Maria Bradford pairs sour hibiscus and yoghurt with caramelised white chocolate and a West African pepper blend tuile in this dessert at her restaurant Shwen Shwen. Caramelising white chocolate is a fantastic technique that adds butterscotch, toasted nuts and biscuit notes. Maria’s signature West African pepper blend is used in the tuiles, adding heat and spice.
Maria says, “The thick Greek yoghurt gives a luxuriously rich and creamy finish without having to make a custard.”
The day before you want to serve, combine the strawberries with the sugar in a container and place in the fridge overnight to macerate
The next day, gently heat the double cream and milk together in a saucepan. Remove from the heat, stir in the hibiscus powder and allow to cool
Tip the macerated strawberries and their juice into a food processor and blitz until smooth. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl to remove any seeds and chill until needed
Stir together the cream mixture, strawberries and Greek yoghurt. Whisk gently to combine and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes
When completely cool, transfer the mixture to an ice cream machine and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer to a freezer-safe plastic container and freeze for 6-8 hours until needed. You'll want to take it out of the freezer around 15 minutes before serving to help it soften
For the caramelised white chocolate crumble, preheat the oven to 165°C. Place the chocolate on a non-stick mat and place in the oven. Every five minutes, use a dough scraper to break the melting chocolate up – it will begin to caramelise and turn golden from around 30 minutes. Once this happens, you can bring it together in one mass, remove from the oven and cool
Once cool, place in a food processor and pulse gently to achieve a crumble texture
For the pepper blend, toast all the ingredients in a dry pan over a medium heat until fragrant. Allow to cool, then grind in a spice grinder or pestle and mortar. Store in an airtight jar and use within three months – you'll only need 10g for this recipe
For the tuiles, cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Mix together the flour and cocoa powder and combine with the creamed butter. Mix in 10g of the pepper blend and slowly add the orange juice until fully combined. Cover and chill in the fridge
Preheat the oven to 170°C. Spread a thin layer of the tuile mixture onto a non-stick baking mat and bake in the oven for 7-10 minutes until darkly caramelised. Leave to cool then break in small shards. Set aside at room temperature
To serve, place some crumb in the bottom of 6 bowls, top with a quenelle of ice cream in each bowl, drizzle over a little honey and garnish with the pepper tuile shards
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