In My Kitchen: Lemon Semifreddo

The chef at my work made the most amazing light and lemony frozen mousse the other week. After being totally bowled over by how delicious it was, I knew I had to try my hand at making this simple dessert. Essentially the love child between gelato and a cloud; it would be the perfect little finish at a dinner party or an awesome chilly treat on a hot summer day. If you're a fan of lemon meringue pies and ice cream a semifreddo will be right up your alley. Read on for my take on the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of heavy whipping cream (chilled)
• a couple handfuls of mixed berries
• 1 1/4 cups plus a few tablespoons of sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 8 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup of fresh lemon juice
• finely grated zest of two lemons

Line a 11x7x2 inch or similarly sized freezer safe dish with plastic wrap making sure to leave plenty of over hang-ie bits. Using an electric mixer beat whipping cream until soft peaks form. Put aside in the fridge for later. 

Whisk together 1 1/4 cups of sugar, salt, egg yolks, lemon juice, and lemon peel in a large metal bowl until combined. Set the bowl over an appropriately sized sauce pan of simmering water and whisk constantly until the custard is thick and fluffy, roughly 8-10 minutes. Taking the bowl off the simmering water, use an electric mixer to beat the mixture until cool and doubled in volume (roughly 6 minutes). Gently fold in the chilled whip cream. Pour into dish and smooth out the top. Fold up plastic wrap overhang to cover. Chuck the whole thing in the freezer and leave it in there until firm, about 10 hours or overnight should do it.

To make a simple mixed berry sauce for your semifreddo put the berries in a sauce pan over medium heat with a few tablespoons of sugar and mix occasionally until softened and syrup-ie. Transfer to a bowl, cover and put in the fridge to cool off.

And there you have it! Very easy and very yummy. If you wanted to add another dimension of flavour to the recipe you could line the bottom of the dish with sliced almonds or frozen raspberries or even gummy bears before you poured the semifreddo in. I however think that this recipe is just about perfect in it's simplicity and wouldn't want to change a thing.