Photo: Girl Interrupted Eating / Flickr

James Martin says in his book James Martin Desserts that his recipe for raspberry and nougat semifreddo was inspired by a trip to Italy: ‘I first stumbled across semifreddo in Italy where I tried it with nougat inside. Semifreddo in Italian translates to “half cold.”’ Martin’s recipe is made with mascarpone cheese, eggs, caster sugar, raspberries and nougat with pistachio nuts. James suggests that the nougat can be omitted and that the recipe works just as well with pistachios and hazelnuts.

Ingredients

You will need the following ingredients in order to make raspberry and nougat semifreddo for eight: 400 grams of mascarpone cheese, 4 eggs (at room temperature), 6 tablespoons of caster sugar, 200 grams of raspberries and 100 grams of nougat with pistachio nuts (chopped). You will also need some olive oil and a small loaf tin.

As Martin suggests, use pistachios and hazelnuts as an alternative to nougat if you wish. Otherwise use ‘fruit such as lemon – lemon and vodka semifreddo with hazelnuts is fantastic.’

Method

Grease the loaf tin with olive oil and then line it with cling film. Separate the eggs so that the whites and egg yolks are in different bowls.

Place the caster sugar into the bowl with the egg yolks and whisk together until the mixture is frothy. Add the mascarpone cheese and mix again. Fold the chopped nougat into the mixture. Whip up the egg whites until they are stiff. Gently fold them into the mixed yolks with the fruit.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and leave the semifreddo overnight to set. Alternatively, leave it in the freezer until it has frozen. Turn it out of the mould before cutting it into slices and serving it with some fresh raspberries and some raspberry sauce.

Tags: desserts, recipes