Honey and Raspberry Semifreddo

Prior to my pregnancy I  didn’t really like ice cream, I aways felt a bit to creamy and I preferred sorbet or an ice lolly but since getting pregnant I am happily obsessed with ice cream. Taking every opportunity to taste ice cream at festivals and fairs – particularly The Udder Stuff – Ginger and Mandarin –  produced at Chatsworth Dairy.

The next logical step is probably to begin making my own ice cream so I am not sure how long I will resist the allure of an ice cream maker but am sensibly waiting to see if the craving lasts post-pregnancy.

Watching a old episode of Nigella Express she showed a Honey Semifreddo from the Italian half cold it’s not quite an ice cream but a smooth soft velvety block and doesn’t need churning which sounded perfect.

I wanted to add some fruit and there were plenty of punnets of freshly picked local raspberries at West Bridgford Farmers market and jars of local Wollotan Park Honey.

I halved the quantities from the recipe not wanting to seem greedy it still made enough for 4 people and can be made up to 3 days in advance.

Since this recipes uses egg yolks only you are left with egg whites perfect for meringues. You don’t have to make them straight away the whites can be frozen in freezer bags.

Rapsberry and Honey Semifreddo

1 eggs
2 egg yolks
50g of honey / 4 heaped tbsp (3 tablespoons or so for serving)
150ml double cream
100g of fresh or frozen raspberries

1. Line a 500g loaf tin/pie dish with clingfilm.
2. Beat the egg and egg yolks with the honey in a bowl, over a saucepan of gently simmering water, until the mixture is pale and thick (think custard). Definitely reccomend having an electric whisk for this
3. Whip the double cream until thick (think greek yogurt) then gently fold in the egg and honey mixture.
4. Place half the raspberries in a layer in the bottom of the tin.
5. Pour the honey and egg the prepared loaf tin, and cover carefully with cling film before putting it in the freezer for about 2-3 hours. You can put the remaing raspberries into the freezer if you are worries about them keeping.
6. 4. When it is ready to serve, turn out the semifreddo onto a plate druzzle with honey, and sprinkle with the other half of the raspberries .

The honey was pale and so produced a light coloured semifreddo,  velvety in texture and creamy and sweet but  with bursts of sour raspberries. I definitley want to make semifreddo again, I think small pieces of stem ginger would be fantastic , perhaps with some honeycomb sprinked over the top – maybe I can hold off buying that ice cream maker.