Strawberry & chocolate cream pie

Ingredients

For the base

• 200g bourbon biscuits (about 18 biscuits)
• 70g butter

For the chocolate ganache

• 200g dark chocolate
• 35g unsalted butter
• 190g double cream
• A pinch of flaky sea salt

For the topping

• 400g strawberries (smaller is better)
• 400g cream
• 110g sour cream
• Cocoa powder, to decorate (or more strawberries, sliced horizontally)

Method

You will also need a 23cm pie dish or cake tin with a removable base. Butter the tin’s base and edges and line with a round of greaseproof paper.

Start by smashing up the biscuits – you can do this in a food processor or by placing them in a plastic bag and bashing them with a rolling pin.

Melt the butter. Pour the biscuit crumbs into a bowl and stir through the melted butter with a wooden spoon. Place the mixture into your pie dish and pat it into an even layer, focusing on the sides to ensure its flush to the edges. Refrigerate while you get on with the rest of work.

Now make the ganache. Finely chop the chocolate and cube the butter, then place both in a small bowl. In a small saucepan over a medium heat, bring the double cream to a simmer. Remove from the heat and pour the mixture over the cubed butter and chocolate. Place a lid on the bowl and let it stand for 2 mins, then use a wooden spoon or spatula to stir the until the chocolate and butter have melted and everything is smooth. If your chocolate doesn’t completely melt, you can microwave the bowl very briefly or place it over a pan of simmering water for a minute or two and then stir again. Be careful not to over-stir, as this can result in splitting (if this does happen, it can be rescued with a couple of splashes of boiling water or hot milk).

Add a pinch of flaky sea salt to your ganache and gently stir it through. Pour the ganache over your chilled biscuit crust and refrigerate for 40 mins or until firm but not solid.

Whip up the double cream using an electric or hand whisk until soft peaks form (this means peaks that flop over on the end of the whisk). Add the sour cream and continue whipping both creams together until you have stiff peaks that you’ll be able to sculp onto the pie.

Cut any larger strawberries in half. Using an offset spatula, top the set ganache with about a quarter of your whipped cream then top with the whole strawberries in a spiral so that the strawberries’ pointy ends are pointing inwards towards the centre of the pie. You want the strawberries to cover as much of the ganache as possible.

Spread the rest of the whipped cream on top and shape it so you have a flat top and sloping sides. Place in the fridge to set for a further 15 mins. Top with a sprinkle of cocoa powder, or some horizontal strawberry slices.

Image: Stuart Ovenden