When I made this new website, I wanted a page that I can write on. Still, last year as gone so fast and I had to face up to many changes in my life, the most important of which is that I relocated from the Luberon Valley to a no touristic village near Saint Remy de Provence. I found a beautiful, old farmhouse, nestled in orchards of pears, almonds and apples that are just starting to blossom now. All winter, I have been working hard to prepare everything to welcome people from all over the world at my cooking classes. But then the virus came, and all reservations stopped. So, here I am, sitting at my table in front of the window and time to write.
Before the quarantine started, I had a last meal with some dear friends, and the dessert was a semifreddo. Or to better say, my semifreddo, as technically it’s not. The classic recipe contains eggs that bring up the level of difficulty. In the years I’ve been working as a private chef, I was creating so many desserts, trying to make them lighter and more accessible as sometimes I didn’t have much time. I always like to use just a few ingredients in my recipes, because this leaves space for more creativity. You have the basics, like the cream and coconut cream, and from that, you can completely change the taste. On Springtime, one of my favourite addiction is strawberries. I chop some and some I mix with a little sugar and also put some crushed meringues for crunchiness if I have. In this time cooking at home is coming back, so I hope you’ll enjoy!
Semifreddo with dark chocolate and orange
Ingredients for 8/10 servings
500 ml of whipping cream 30%of fat
400 ml of coconut cream, I prefer the one in Tetra Pack rather than tins as it has a better flavour.
One tablespoon of marmalade
100 gr of chocolate chips, or grated dark chocolate.
One teaspoon of grounded ginger, a pinch of grounded allspice
50 gr of chopped candied orange peels
The chocolate sauce
100 gr of dark chocolate 70% of cocoa finely chopped
100 ml of water, one tablespoon of sugar
Pinch of salt, Fleur de sel or Maldon salt are delicious, and I always have at home as they enhance the flavour of any food. Grounded ginger as much as you like.
For decorations: candied orange peels, pistachio powder or anything that inspire you.
Directions
As the quantity of cream is high, I use an electric mixer, but you can also make half of the amount if you don’t have one or prefer a hand-whisk. I start putting the bowl and the whisk attachment in the fridge, as they have to be very cold, then I prepare all the ingredients so that I won’t need to stop during the preparation. This step is crucial because once I have started, I can finish it without interruptions.
Now that I have everything ready, I pour the coconut cream, the marmalade and the spices in the bowl. I mix to combine and smooth the coconut cream if needed, then I add the whipping cream and start whisking till soft peaks forms. Now I fold in the chocolate and the candied peels with a spatula, making a bottom-up movement.
At this point, all I need to do is filling the mould. I can use a rectangular cake mould, in which case I line it with a piece of parchment paper, so it’s easy to take it off, or I use individual silicone moulds when I want my dessert to be outstanding. I also pay attention that there are no air bubbles by making a light pressure onto the cream, then I put my semifreddo in the freezer for at least 5 hours. It’s a great dessert to make when you have a party or guests, as you can prepare it even days before, make sure though to protect it with a film before freezing.
When it’s time to serve I prepare the chocolate sauce: I bring the water to a boil in a saucepan, I switch off the heat and pour in the chocolate, the ginger, the sugar and the pinch of salt. I wait that it melts before stirring. In the meanwhile, I sort out the semifreddo and take it off the moulds, then onto a dish. I mix the sauce till it’s velvety, then I pour on the dessert when it’s lukewarm if you’d like it perfect as in a restaurant do the pouring on a grid instead of the plate. I decorate with orange peels and pistachio powder, or pistachio chunks, what I have in the pantry, you can take your time as the semifreddo needs to defrost a bit. For the photo, I had some kumquats marmalade which makes a beautiful decoration as well.
Utterly delicious snow balls