Recipe: Roast Apricot, Honey and Walnut Semifreddo

A semifreddo - which translates as ‘half cold’ - is sort of a cheat’s ice cream that doesn’t need churning. It’s intended to be served as it softens rather than frozen solid; I’ve recommended a six-hour freeze but you could get away with less, or even just an hour or so and call it a frozen mousse!

The rich cream is a delight with some of the sharper fruits - rhubarb is another great seasonal option you could use in place of apricots.

There’s a simpler version of this, which is just: roast and chop (or even blend) apricots, whip cream, stir honey and apricots through cream, freeze. Drizzle with honey and walnuts before serving. However the egg yolk / white rigmarole gives a lighter result.

When it comes to lining your tin: most recipes advise doing this with cling film, allowing enough to overhang that you can fold it over the top of the semifreddo, but I try to avoid to using cling film. Instead I use a loaf tin greaseproof paper liner, and cover the tin with a reusable bowl cover at the end (this kind of thing - basically a shower cap for your bowl) which can be washed after use.

This recipe contains raw egg (see above for an egg-free version though).

Serves 8 - 10

Ingredients
3 eggs, separated
100g good-quality honey, plus a tablespoon to drizzle over
300ml double cream
250g apricots
1 tablespoon walnuts, chopped

Method

1.      Pre-heat the oven to 180C / gas 4.

2.      Line a 900g loaf tin - see note above.

3.      Halve the apricots and place in a baking tray with 100ml water. Roast for 15 – 20 minutes until soft and golden brown. Chop them into small pieces: the easiest way to do this is put them in a small bowl / pot and snip them up with scissors.

4.      In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form. Do this first or you’ll have to clean the beaters before whipping the yolks and cream – if there’s fat on the beaters the whites won’t stiffen.

5.      Place a glass bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, add the egg yolks and honey and beat together until the mixture is pale, thick and creamy. (You can use a hand or electric whisk, but an electric whisk is much faster – it does take a while.)

6.      In a third bowl, whip the double cream until thick and peaked.

7.      Tip the fruit and the honey/yolks into the cream. Using a spatula or large metal spoon, fold in until just smooth. Then gently fold the egg whites into the mixture.

8.      Spoon the mixture into the loaf tin. Cover and put into the freezer for at least six hours, until frozen solid.

9.      Toast the walnuts in a dry frying pan for a couple of minutes.

10.   Remove 15 minutes before serving to allow to soften, then turn out. Drizzle with a tablespoon of honey and scatter with the toasted walnuts.