Vanilla semifreddo with strawberry compote, a tasty alternative to ice cream that’s a breeze to make at home. (JG Photo/Petty Elliott)
Semifreddo is a classic Italian dessert that is similar to gelato or ice cream. The beautiful thing about making semifreddo is that you don’t need to use an ice cream machine. It is very easy to make and comes out with the soft and creamy texture of ice cream. The classic flavor for semifreddo is vanilla, but you can create any flavor you like, from coffee and chocolate to strawberry or anything else, by adding melted chocolate, extract of coffee or fruit extracts.
The preparation and the technique for making semifreddo is slightly different from that of making ice cream. To make ice cream, you cook an egg yolk mixture with milk, cream and vanilla seeds in a pan on low heat until the mixture gets as thick as custard. Then when the mixture cools down, you transfer it into an ice cream machine. For semifreddo, it is very important to whisk the mixture of egg yolks and sugar over a pan of boiling water with an electric hand whisk to create a light, creamy mixture. Then cream and yoghurt are added to the egg mixture after it cools down.
For this week’s recipe I have vanilla semifreddo with strawberry. We have many different varieties of locally grown strawberries. You can replace the strawberry with banana, pineapple, grown raspberry or roasted salak (snake fruit) or serve the semifreddo as it is, with the vanilla flavor. Enjoy!
Strawberry Semifreddo
You can prepare the semifreddo a week before you consume it. It might be a good idea for your Easter party next week. Frozen desserts are an excellent choice if you want to buzz up any party. You can also prepare the strawberry a couple of hours in advance and prepare extra sliced fresh strawberry just before serving. Serve 8-10.
Ingredients
•For the semifreddo: 6 egg yolks; 125gr castor sugar; 100ml cream (you can use whipping cream if you like); 150ml plain whole-milk yoghurt; 1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped.
•For the strawberry: 500gr fresh strawberry, 100gr castor sugar; 50ml water.
Directions:
1.Get a bread loaf tin. Wet the inside of the tin with a teaspoonful of water, then line it with cling film so that it sticks. Set the tin aside.
2.Cut the vanilla pod lengthwise and with the back of a tablespoon, scrape out the vanilla seeds. Set aside.
3.Put the egg yolks, vanilla seeds and sugar in a large bowl over a pan of lightly boiling water and whisk for five minutes with an electric whisk, until thick, pale and creamy. It should take around 5-7 minutes. The mix should have a light, thick texture, which will hold a trail when you lift the whisk after turning it off first. Set aside to cool to room temperature and stir from time to time. Then place in the refrigerator to chill for an hour.
4.When the mixture is cold, whisk the cream and yoghurt until they just hold very soft peaks. Gently fold into the egg mixture or custard with a spatula, keeping in as much air as possible. Pour into the prepared tin and freeze overnight.
5.To prepare the strawberry, remove the stalk and cut into halves. Put half of the strawberries, water and sugar into a pan and bring to a simmer. Cook for around 5 minutes or until the sugar melts and the strawberries shrink. Add the rest of strawberries and turn the heat off. This will give you two different textures of strawberry: pulpy and firm. Refrigerate until needed.
6.To serve, transfer the semifreddo to the fridge 30 minutes before serving, then turn out of the tin. Cut into 8 thick slices and serve with two spoonfuls of the strawberry compote.
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