Basil & white chocolate creams with sticky balsamic strawberries

Basil & white chocolate creams with sticky balsamic strawberries

A subtle and delicious combination - your guests will be left guessing what those familiar flavours are

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

Total time

Ready in 25 mins, plus an hour in the fridge

Method

  1. Pour the cream into a saucepan, then add the torn basil leaves and stalks. Bring to a simmer over a medium heat, then remove from the heat and leaveto infuse for 5 mins. Discard the basil and re-heat the cream to a simmer.
  2. Remove the cream from the heat and immediately tip in the chocolate. Leave for a few mins to melt, then stir until smooth. Pour the mixture into four serving glasses and chill for at least 1 hr until firm. (This can be done up to a day ahead.)
  3. In a small saucepan, mix the caster sugar and balsamic vinegar with 2 tbsp water and cook over a medium heat, stirring continuously, until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture has reduced by half to a sticky syrup (about 5 mins). Cool before pouring over the strawberries and allow to soak for at least 1 hr.
  4. Spoon the balsamic strawberries over the creams and decorate with basil.

Per serving

606 kcalories, protein 9g, carbohydrate 64g, fat 37 g, saturated fat 22g, fibre 1g, sugar 49g, salt 0.3 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, June 2005.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 1-20

  • 11 November 2007

    Pipe-o rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • 18 November 2007

    HELEN commented on this recipe

    Really easy and delicious, my guests wanted more ! Much lighter than you would expect and full of delicate flavours.

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  • 03 March 2008

    Holly rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    Nice desert but I think not for everyone. I found the basil too over powering in a sweet dish, I think next time I would use a vanilla pod instead. strawberries were delicious though!

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  • 20 March 2008

    Sylvia commented on this recipe

    Thought this would be simple uncomplicated and foolproof!!!!!!!!! Well it simply wouldnt set.......tried it twice now but wont be trying it again. Very disappointed.

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  • 15 May 2008

    shona rated and commented on this recipe

    1 stars

    NO...NO...NO...Did not like this, I like the taste of basil BUT IT DOES NOT GO WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE the basil was over powerful. Did not set well and the strawberries were a mess will never try this again BUT I liked the idea of the cream and white chocolate together and the idea of a vanilla pod is a good thought. If you miss out the basil then you have a good idea for a desert but try it before you give it to other people !!! BEWARE

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  • 03 June 2008

    Mandy rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This is now a regular pudding in our family - I make it without the basil and the kids just adore it - a real treat and very easy to make.

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  • 10 June 2008

    Sarahd rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I made this for a dinner party and adjusted the recipe to serve 8. After reading the other reviews, I used a small handful of basil and stalks and as a result the basil flavour was more subtle. I also had no problem with the mixture setting. I think the basil flavour works excellently with the balsamic strawberries. Everyone loved the desert and I would definitely make it again.

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  • 15 August 2008

    Rene commented on this recipe

    This one is a winner. The balsamic syrup is simply divine. I just found the chocolate creams very sweet. Served in small portions, like in Chinese spoons, with extra strawberries, it works very well. My family loved it and I will definitely make it again!

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  • 10 February 2009

    Mark rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    An awesome way to impress your foody wife.

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  • 01 March 2009

    Jayne rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Very interesting combination of flavours that complement each other brilliantly. My dinner guests loved it. If you don't like Basil I would steer clear as the flavour is quite strong. Don't let the Balsamic syrup boil, stir constantly on a lowish heat - 1st try ended up with Treacle! Well worth the 2nd attempt though!. I only used 2 stalks of Basil and found this enough. So easy to make and looks fab served in a wine or martini glass.

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  • 22 March 2009

    Maria Budgen rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    This worked pretty much as per the recipe, although the white choc cream took longer to set - about 3hrs to go firm I think, although I left mine overnight in prep for Mothers Day lunch. The balsamic syrup did go like thick treacle when I poured it over the strawberries, and I was quite concerned, but basically it marinates them and the strawberries produce juice so it goes back to being a liquid syrup after an hour or so. If I make again will serve smaller portions (shot glasses & teaspoons?) as the choc cream is very rich. After earlier comments above, only used handful of basil and then couldn't taste it at all! Loved the balsamic strawberries.

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  • 24 May 2009

    CloClo rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I only tried the balsamic strawberries, and ate them still warm with good quality vanilla ice cream and a sprinkling a black pepper! I LOVE strawberries done this way!

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  • 14 June 2009

    emmascakesofbath commented on this recipe

    This is just divine! I infused the basil for around 3 mins as I did not want it to be too over powering. It did take 6 hours for mine to set - but they were worth the wait - so divine. We had a dinner party of 8 and everybody just loved them. Will definately do this again.

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  • 22 July 2009

    Claris74 rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    After reading the other comments about the time this took to set, I made this the night before my dinner party and by the morning it had set nicely. It is, I agree, very very sweet, so do serve in small portions. I actually whizzed the strawberries through the blender roughly for a couple of seconds so they were more like a puree which I think worked well. Regarding the basil, this is obviously a really personal taste, I used just two leaves and actually found you couldn't really taste it at all, so next time I'd use more and be less cautious. Having said that, my guests really enjoyed it, with one saying she felt like she was in a top restaurant! (if only I'd had the waiters to match!) It's real 'fine dining impressive', but ever so simple really.

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  • 07 November 2009

    LittleCloud commented on this recipe

    This recipe is quite a lot like panna cotta, so if you are having difficulty getting it to set, try adding gelatine (or agar-agar if you don't eat animal products). Honey and chocolate tend to not set as easily as vanilla (not sure why), so add the gelatine to the cream after you have added the chocolate, and if the texture is not 'custard-y', add a bit more. I find latte or martini glasses work well and look glam for serving. Instead of basil, you could also try mint, but watch the quantity.

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  • 02 March 2010

    Bexb rated this recipe

    4 stars

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  • 01 July 2010

    amber rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    I wish that I had read the comments first! I made mine 4 hours before I needed them and they did not set at all. I loved the basil flavour - really different. I also loved the strawberries in the balsamic, so yummy. I found this dish far too sweet though and could not eat mine, I would say this amount would serve 6 easily in little shot glasses. Will not do it again, Shame it sounded so nice

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  • 06 July 2010

    Ruth rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Excellent recipe - basil flavour quite strong - felt that next time I might add a little less or leave it infuse for less time. However, flavour was excellent & went v. well with the chocolate - it doesn't set v. hard, but has a slightly soft/sticky texture. The chocolate element on it's own is not really nice (too sweet) - it absolutely requires the sharpness of the fruit and balsamic vineagar to work. Served it to guests as part of a desert (had a raspberry ameretti crunch cake with whipped cream as the second part of the desert - also GF recipe). I served it in small espresso cups - it looked v. well & restaurant-like. Everyone really enjoyed it. I made the chocolate part the previous evening - so only had the strawberries to do to finish it off on the day.

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  • 10 October 2010

    Sue commented on this recipe

    This always goes down well when I make - everyone loves it. Sometimes I make it runnier - less choc or more cream and serve it as a fondue type dessert. Makes a good dessert for a BBQ. First time I served it to some Dutch vistors - there was silence round the table whilst it was being consumed!!

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  • 29 May 2011

    dusicka rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    oh my god, it's delicious!!

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

Total time

Ready in 25 mins, plus an hour in the fridge

Ingredients

  • 284ml pot single cream
  • 1 large bunch basil , leaves and stalks torn, plus extra leaves to serve
  • 300g good-quality white chocolate , chopped
  • 50g golden caster sugar
  • 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 250g strawberries , hulled and halved
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Per serving

606 kcalories, protein 9g, carbohydrate 64g, fat 37 g, saturated fat 22g, fibre 1g, sugar 49g, salt 0.3 g

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