This daring fusion of sweet and savoury makes for perfect petits fours or a great homemade gift (if you can bear to part with them). Pairing strawberry with basil used to be the norm, now pink peppercorns have taken their place. Anna Hansen serves up a fantastic rhubarb and peppercorn pavlova at her London restaurant, The Modern Pantry. Once you’ve mastered this recipe, try experimenting with different fruits: rhubarb, blueberries or raspberries would all work well.

KCAL

241 per 2 truffle serving

SATURATED FAT

8.1g per serving

PREPARATION TIME

20 minutes

COOKING TIME

2 hours (to cool)

INGREDIENTS (MAKES 20)

For the ganache:

200g wild strawberries
75g golden caster sugar
200g double cream
10g pink peppercorns, crushed
450g white chocolate, broken into pieces
Cornflour or icing sugar

For coating:

300g white chocolate
10g pink peppercorns, crushed

METHOD

Step 1: Place the washed strawberries in a saucepan with the sugar and cook until puréed. Ideally, you want the mixture to reduce by half to concentrate the flavour. Pass the mixture through a sieve to remove lumps and fibres, then return to the heat with the cream and peppercorns. Simmer for approximately 2 minutes. Pour onto the white chocolate in a bowl and blend together until smooth. Cool, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Step 2: To roll the truffles, dust your hands with cornflour or icing sugar, take even teaspoonfuls of the ganache and rapidly roll into spheres. Place the truffles onto parchment paper and put in the fridge to set.

Step 3: To coat your truffles: temper the chocolate (heat it until liquid and then cool again so it’s smooth but not solid), then dip the truffles into it, carefully coating them using your hands. Sprinkle with the crushed peppercorns immediately so that they stick to the chocolate. Place the truffles on baking parchment in a cool, dry place for 10 minutes to set. Serve with crushed peppercorns scattered around the plate.

From Adventures With Chocolate by Paul A Young (£14.99, Kyle Books)

Hand-rolled Truffles