The syrup gets an exotic note with the addition of black pepper, which goes so well with fruit such as raspberries and watermelon. If you’re quick folding the raspberry ripple through the ice-cream, you can serve spoonfuls of it straightaway. When you have more time, freeze the ice-cream until it’s firm enough to scoop. A mini watermelon is just the right size for this recipe.
Ingredients
Raspberry-pepper syrup
Method
Main
1.Place a 1.5-litre container in the freezer. For raspberry-pepper syrup, bring sugar and 150ml water to the simmer in a saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add raspberries and pepper, set aside to cool briefly (3-5 minutes), then pass through a sieve, pressing gently on solids (discard solids). Place a third of the syrup in a small saucepan and boil over high heat until thickened (3-5 minutes), then transfer to a bowl placed over a bowl of ice and stir occasionally until chilled. Refrigerate remaining syrup separately to chill.
2.Beat ice-cream in the chilled bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until just softened. Crush half the raspberries and add to ice-cream with chilled reduced syrup, fold to create a ripple effect, then serve immediately or freeze in a chilled container until required.
3.Toss watermelon, cherries, peaches and remaining raspberries in a bowl, spoon into serving bowls and drizzle with a little raspberry-pepper syrup to taste. Top with a scoop of ice-cream, drizzle with more syrup to taste, scatter with flowers and serve.
