Honey Semifreddo

 

 

Introduction

A semifreddo is not quite an ice cream, as the name - semi-cold, in translation - suggests. There's no custard to make, and no churning required as it freezes, which makes life very much easier. What you get is a smooth, soft block of chilled, almost frozen cream, with a texture of deep, deep velvetiness. This mellow, honey-flavoured version matches taste to texture. For some reason, sometimes when I make it, I end up with a block of uniformly buff cream; at others, I'm left with a honeyed, resin-coloured stripe along the base - or the top as it stands when you turn it out. But that's cooking for you. Either way, it works wonderfully. Pour more amber-coloured honey over as you serve, and scatter with toasted pine nuts, for quite the dreamiest, easiest pudding you could imagine.
As featured in

Line a 900g / 2lb / 1 litre loaf tin with clingfilm.
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. I use a wire balloon whisk for this, but if you feel like a bit of culinarily aided whirring, it will certainly be quicker with a hand-held electric whisk.
Whip the double cream until thick, and then gently fold in the egg and honey mixture. Pour into the prepared loaf tin, and cover carefully with clingfilm before putting it in the freezer for about 2-3 hours.
When it is ready to serve, turn out the semifreddo on to a suitably sized plate and drizzle this manilla-coloured log with honey, and sprinkle with the toasted pine nuts, before slicing. It thaws quickly as it stands, but that is part of its heavenly-textured charm. If you've got some dark, syrupy - indeed, honey-coloured - pudding wine to drink while you eat this, so much the better.