Juniper, fennel, chipotle, pink peppercorns… not the usual suspects when you’re making puddings. But Pollyanna from the delicious. food team shows that, just as salt can be used to bring out the flavour of caramel, these flavour-packed seeds, flakes and berries give familiar sweet treats exciting new dimensions
RECIPES AND FOOD STYLING POLLYANNA COUPLAND PHOTOGRAPHS TOM SHINGLER
Pineapple and pink peppercorn frangipane tart
Serves 6-8 Hands-on time 30 min, plus resting Oven time 55-60 min Specialist kit 23cm fluted tart tin with a removable base
For the pastry
• 250g plain flour
• ½ tsp fine salt
• 125g unsalted butter, chilled and cubed, plus extra to grease
• 1 medium free-range egg
For the filling
• 125g soft unsalted butter
• 125g light brown soft sugar
• 1 medium free-range egg
• 125g ground almonds
• Finely grated zest 1 lime
• 1½ tsp pink peppercorns,
crushed
• 150g pineapple, cored, sliced
and roughly chopped
1 To make the pastry, put the flour, salt and butter in a food processor and whizz until you have a sandy texture. Add the egg and whizz again until it comes together as a dough, adding a splash of cold water if needed. Tip out onto a clean surface and bring together into a ball, but don’t overwork. Flatten the ball into a disc, then wrap and rest in the fridge for an hour.
2 Grease the tart tin and roll out the pastry between 2 sheets of baking paper. Transfer the pastry to the tart case, leaving at least a 2cm overhang all the way round, then prick all over with a fork and put back in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes.
3 Heat the oven to 160ºC fan/gas 4 and line the pastry with a sheet of foil, moulding it to the exact shape of the tin. Fill with baking beans or uncooked rice and bake for 15 minutes, then remove the beans/rice and foil and bake for a further 5 minutes. Once cooled slightly, use a small serrated knife to carefully carve off the pastry overhang.
4 To make the filling, beat the butter and sugar in a bowl until light and creamy, then stir in the egg, followed by the ground almonds, half the lime zest and two thirds of the peppercorns. Pour the mixture into the tart case and smooth out with a spatula until level. Arrange the pineapple on top, sprinkle with the remaining peppercorns and bake for 35-40 minutes. Leave to cool and set for 10 minutes before sprinkling with the remaining lime zest and slicing.
Per serving (for 8) 535kcals, 36.3g fat (17.5g saturated), 9.3g protein, 42.2g carbs (17.9g sugars), 0.3g salt, 1.6g fibre →
Fennel seed, toasted oat and orange cheesecake
Serves 8 Hands-on time 35 min, plus at least 4 hours chilling Specialist kit 18cm springform cake tin
MAKE AHEAD
The cheesecake will
