vanilla semifreddo

for mother's day this year, we took the mom to Lucques for lunch. the meal was a delight as always and we finished it off with the semifreddo w/ acacia honey & berries. it was so good we were really close to licking the plate clean!

semifreddo a la Lucques...

if you're familiar with Suzanne Goin's cookbook, Sunday Suppers at Lucques, you know that she has her recipes categorized by season and then organized in menus. each menu offers a starter, 2 choices for a main w/ sides and a dessert. while i was looking up the Green Rice recipe the other day, i was pleasantly suprised to find her semifreddo recipe as part of the same menu.

semifreddo, an italian word, literally means "partially frozen." the whipped eggs make it light and the whipped cream prevents it from freezing completely. this semi-frozen dessert is like a frozen creamy custard. basically, it's like crazy bananas good!! it's a great alternative to making homemade ice cream if you don't have an ice cream maker.

mise en place

vanilla semifreddo
adapted from Sunday Suppers at Lucques
serves 6-8
1 1/3 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
pinch of vanilla powder or 1/2 vanilla bean
3 eggs separated

lightly oil a 9" loaf pan (or any mold of your choice) and line it with plastic wrap. try to smooth it out as much as you can and let the excess plastic drape over the sides.

whip the cream until stiff peaks form. cover and chill while you prepare the other parts.

whip together the egg yolks, vanilla powder (or seeds if using a bean), vanilla extract and half of the sugar, until the mixture is thick, pale and doubled in volume and set aside.

whip the egg whites until frothy. slowly add the remaining sugar and whip until stiff peaks form.

fold the whipped cream into the yolk mixture. once they are well combined, gently fold in the whipped egg whites, a third at a time. you want to do this as gently as possible yet as quick as possible until the mixture is all well combined.

pour the mixture into the mold and tap the pan on the counter 3 times to ensure the mixture is settled and even. place a pieces of plastic wrap over the pan, touching the mixture and smooth it out.

freeze for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. here's where your patience comes into play.

when its ready, it will be frozen yet soft enough to easily yield to a knife.
of course, you can just take a spoon and dig in...

...or invert the semifreddo onto a platter, slice it up and serve drizzled with honey and fresh berries!

bon appétit~!