Honey and Pistachio Semifreddo

Honey and Pistachio Semifreddo

Some people enjoy reading, some dancing and I love making desserts. Desserts is the one course that you eat with your eyes first.

Having been born and brought up in eastern India, sweets after every meal is a not a want, it's a need. For me, when it comes to food, looks matter, even as a child, I refused to touch any dessert that did not look pretty.
Anyone from India will know that it's really difficult to make pretty looking Indian desserts. Don't get me wrong, Indian sweets are really nice and one of the yummiest desserts but looks, nada!

I like to think of myself as an experimental chef who tries new and different things to decide if a particular combination worked. In the process, my guinea pigs are my friends and my handsome husband. My passion for making desserts started at a very young age.  There is only one rule when it comes to desserts - THEY HAVE TO LOOK PRETTY.

My latest creation was a Semifreddo. In my husband's own words: "Semifreddo is an ice-cream with a fancy name." He is partly right, it's a soft serve ice-cream.

I am sharing my recipe below. Hope you enjoy making it as much as i did.

Ingredients:

For Semifreddo:

300ml Thick Cream
3 eggs
3/4 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup Honey (I used Manuka Honey)
3/4 roasted slightly salted Pistachios
2 tbsp butterscotch chips

For Mango Chilli Salsa:

1 fresh Mango cut into small pieces
1/2 tsp Chilli flakes
1/2 tsp sugar (1tsp if you mangoes are not sweet)


Method:

For Semifreddo:

1. Beat thick cream in a beater until soft peaks are formed. Place the beaten cream in the refrigerator for 10-15 mins.

2. Beat Sugar, honey and eggs together until the mixture is pale in colour (I have a Breville beater it took me around 10 mins).

3.  Fold in the cream with the egg mixture.

4. Add roasted pistachio and crushed butterscotch chips.

5. Line your tin with baking paper with the paper slightly hanging out of the baking tray.

6. Pour the mixture and leave it in the freezer to set for 6-8 hours.


For Mango Chilli Salsa:

1. In a pan, on low heat add 1 tsp of oil and add the diced mangoes.

2. Add chilli flakes and sugar. Wait for the sugar to melt.

3. Once the sugar has melted, if the salsa is too thick, add 1/8 cup of water .

4. Let the salsa cool and used it for garnishing.

Remove the tin from the freezer. Using the over hanging baking paper take the set Semifreddo out. Flip it over and top with the cold mango chilli salsa.

And you're ready to enjoy the hard earned treat!

Tip: Before serving, take the Semifreddo out of the freezer and leave it in the fridge for about 5 mins this makes for just the perfect texture and make sure to pop the leftover back in the freezer (not fridge) as the semifreddo melts relatively quickly even at fridge temperatures. (Learnt the hard way :))