Before chillies arrived in the UK from South America, cooks used long pepper. I watched this recipe on Nigel Slaters BBC series where he travelled on a boat with the Peppermongers. The moral of this recipe is "Be bold" – as the cream takes a lot of the heat out of the spice. If you don't have long peppers go buy some they are something else. "Why am I slightly scared?" said Nigel Slater when presented with a peppery dessert, but on tasting it his fear turned to pleasure as he exclaimed “It’s not at all what I was expecting… it’s like a little bit of an adventure with hit after hit after hit…”
Ingredients
1 x 250ml pot of dollop cream (or crème fraiche)
4 tbsp brown sugar or raw caster sugar
5 cardamom seeds, crushed
1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped from the pod
5 long pepper spikes, snapped, cracked and ground*
Mixed fresh fruit, to serve
Pistachios (optional)
*I bought my long peppers from an Australian supplier in South Australia.
Method
1.Whisk the cream until soft peaks form. Mix the spices and vanilla seeds together.
2.Just before serving, fold the spice mixture into the cream, reserving a little to sprinkle on top for aroma.
3.Dust with icing sugar, particularly if serving the cream with tart fruit such as plums or cherries.
4.Serve with summer fruits, peaches, nectarines, mangoes, plums and/or cherries.
I add pistachios because I love a crunch to my dessert.
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