didally.com
Of Food and perhaps a little about me
July 13, 2008 at 2:59 pm
· Filed under Recipes: Dessert
There is always a first time for everything. And this was my first time making ice-cream, semifreddo to be exact. I like ice-cream, don’t you? Especially on a hot, humid day here in Singapore, an ice-cream is so hard to resist!
So what’s a semifreddo? It has a texture icier than ice-cream yet still creamy if you let it melt a little. It’s somewhat between a mousse and an ice-cream. I set my eyes on this recipe when I saw Milk and Cookies execute it from Donna Hay’s magazine. And since I have that issue as well, I thought why not give it a try especially when this recipe doesn’t need an ice-cream maker to do the churning.
My first try was a disaster as I messed up the whipping of the cream. The egg mixture was nicely whipped and left to cool. As I proceed to whip the cream to soft peak, I decided to try hand whisking it quickly. How hard can it be right? That was a mistake. The cream needs to be whisked fast and I couldn’t as my hands got tired after a while. I wonder if it’s the type of cream I bought that caused the problem (I bought Bulla pure cream). I stopped whisking to rest my arms and continued to beat the cream. While resting, the cream hardened and no matter how hard I beat, it began to curdle and stayed hard. Without any extra cream to make a new batch, I felt really disappointed that night as I was looking forward to enjoying the semifreddo on a weekend night the next day. And I ended up sulking in front of the TV the whole night.
I did whipping of egg whites to stiff peak before for my tiramisu using the mixer. That was so much easier. So the following night, I re-did everything from scratch. And this time, I used the mixer instead. Lesson learnt. A different cream was used as well. I got the whipping cream instead which I thought might be easier to whip.
The original recipe asked for only raspberry, but I added some blueberries in and reduced to 2/3 the portion. Instead of letting the berries puree sank to the bottom, I made some swirls to make it looked more beautiful. I used the normal vanilla essence as I didn’t purchase any vanilla pods. I think you can make do with vanilla extract too. Everything went well the second time. Happy.
After leaving the semifreddo to set in the freezer overnight, I eagerly went to taste it the next morning. It was a bit hard to scoop partly because of the frozen berries puree. But once it starts to soften, it melts very fast. I like how the slightly sweet cream was paired with the tangy berries. Every mouthful was a delight, of course, eating my first home-made ice-cream.
My Canon G3 was giving me some problems some time back, so I was ‘forced’ to use B’s DSLR. See the semifreddo melting in the bowl? I still haven’t figured out how to use the DSLR properly. As I fumbled through the settings, the semifreddo couldn’t stand the heat and started to melt! It’s really frustrating as I was so used to the G3. With a flip screen, it was even easier for me to compose the shots comfortably. To take photos using the DSLR without a flip screen and with a pair of very unsteady hands, I got so panicky seeing the ice-cream melts. I guess it’s time to start learning again.
Raspberry Ripple Semifreddo
Recipe from Donna Hay magazine, issue 36
3 x 120g punnets raspberries
3 eggs
2 egg yolks, extra
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
1 cup (220g) caster sugar
13/4 cup single or pouring cream
Place the berries in the food processor and process until smooth. Set aside.
Place the eggs, egg yolks, vanilla and sugar in a large heatproof bowl. Place over saucepan of simmering water and whisk the mixture with a hand-held beater for 4 – 5 mins or until thick and pale. Remove the heat and continue whisking until cool. Whisk cream until soft peaks form and gently fold into the egg mixture. Reserve 2 cups of the mixture and pour the remainder into a 12-cup capacity dish (any container will do actually). Fold the reserved mixture through the pureed berries and spoon stripes over the semifreddo. Place in the freezer for 4 – 6 hours or until set. Serves 10.
This will be my first entry to Sugar High Friday! SHF is a monthly event organised by The Domestic Goddess. The theme for this month is berries and is hosted by Food Blogga. Thanks Sihan for enlightening me on this.
I am also submitting this entry to Red & White Foodie Photo Contest, a collaboration of three foodie bloggers Dhi-Fitri-Dwi, in celebration of Indonesia’s Independence day. I am really eager to see what other foodies have come up with.
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Hannah wrote @ July 14th, 2008 at 7:37 am
Looks incredible! Raspberries are quite possibly my favorite berry, too.
Evan wrote @ July 14th, 2008 at 10:49 am
ah finally got to see this post! this looks very good leh! i love yr photos, they’re all so well taken 
then again initially i tot semifreddo is in a loaf-tin kind, something like a terrine.
i oso like the fact u provide so much photos for a single post. i’m kinda influenced to do the same but i really cant b bothered to take so many photos, esp during the process of baking/cooking. too tedious!
paw paw wrote @ July 14th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
*slurp*
yr pix never fail to make me drool
wiffy wrote @ July 14th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
This is home-made at its best! Lovely, gorgeous photos, too 
Blog more!!
Drool worthy pictures indeed! And I WANT the ice-cream, semifreddo or not!
You don’t need an ice-cream maker to make this ?To me, it’s unbelievable. WOW.
Stardust wrote @ July 15th, 2008 at 8:49 am
Oh but your icecream looks so irresistably yummy!!! Berries are my favourite and the first picture really makes me drool. It’s a lot of hardwork out there, and I think you’ve done well for your first attempt. I fumble a lot with my DSLR too =(, I guess I still love my old Canon better, too bad, it’s not digital.
zonkkie wrote @ July 15th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
looks good leh… the photos look yummy…. even got a pink table cloth! Setup a shop already….
piccola wrote @ July 16th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
your ice-cream looks beautiful
esmelina wrote @ July 16th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
oh wow soooo droolicious!!!!
very nice food styling too! so pretty everything in matching pink!
you finally updated!! please update more regularly alright? your pictures are damn yummy-icious! haha!
i just had my first semifreddo last week, haven eat it before actually, and i am loving it! : )
Love the colors of these photos!
hihi.. wow ur ice-cream looks great! where u got the white color cup for the ice-cream.. i have been looking ard for this.
Evan wrote @ July 18th, 2008 at 1:16 am
happy birthday, lady!
This looks absolutely perfect! I really really love the first photo; makes me feel like licking the screen 
So glad to hear that you whipped this without an ice-cream maker. I always thought I’d never get to taste home made ice-creams without getting the maker!
You made me want to lick the monitor!!! This is absolutely gorgeous!
didally wrote @ July 20th, 2008 at 2:41 am
Hannah, paw paw, pablopabla, wiffy, piccola, esmelina, steamy kitchen: Thanks for all your kind words. 
Evan: Yes, finally. lol. Yes, I seen some make their semifreddo in a small tin. I shall try that another time for a smaller batch. Thanks for your well wishes.
tigerfish: Yes, no ice-cream maker needed! What are you waiting for? Haha..
stardust: How I wish I can still use back the old canon too.
zonkkie: Like that can setup a shop meh? Don’t think I will ever have a shop, it’s hard work.
LIC: It takes mood for me to blog. There are times when I am just plain lazy. Where did you have your semifreddo?
starryger: Thanks! You can get the ramekins at Daiso. It’s only $2 each!
ovenhaven: Thanks! Do try making your own. You can have any flavor you like.
I just don’t believe that this is your first time! It all looks so beautiful, professional and amazing! I can’t wait to see what you come up with after a couple tries at this!
didally wrote @ July 22nd, 2008 at 1:13 am
White On Rice Couple: Thank you!
Jessy wrote @ July 22nd, 2008 at 9:20 am
Beautiful pictures! I once made a pineapple semifreddo, they are so yummy!
i had my semifreddo at Sage. haven blog about it yet. haha! pls update more, i love your pictures : )
Sihan wrote @ July 25th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
woah.. that semifreddo looks delicious! anyway, you could enter it in this month’s sugar high friday! the theme is berries! check out the link below.
http://foodblogga.blogspot.com/2008/07/announcing-shf-45-berries.html
great work nonetheless and i’m loving the photography! thanks for dropping by my blog too!
u attending the food gathering at tetsu?
Well, look on the bright side. At least you burned a bunch of calories with all that stirring, so then you could eat more of your luscious semifreddo. I’m so happy this is your first SHF entry. I’m sure it’s only the first of many more delicious entries to come. Thanks, Didally!
[…] Cheesecake Ice Cream from Delicious Melicious, Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream from Diannes Dishes, Raspberry Ripple Semifreddo from didally.com, Blueberry Lemon Pudding Cakes from eggs on sunday, Mini Espresso Fig Loaves from […]
Piggy wrote @ August 4th, 2008 at 2:19 am
I like how your semifreddo looks, it’s nicely marbled and I bet it must be yummy! I always have problem with whipping cream, esp. when a mixer is used, the cream tends to be overwhipped! But it’s too tedious to whisk by hand.. :-S
didally wrote @ August 4th, 2008 at 11:27 pm
LIC: Thanks again for your kind words. I still have alot to learn.
Sihan: Thanks for letting me know about SHF. I’ve participated!
Susan: Thanks for visiting. I am so excited as this is the first online event I’m participating. Looking forward to see what the other bloggers will whip up.
Piggy: Thanks. Tastewise is okay. It is VERY tedious to whisk by hand. Haha …
Kevin wrote @ August 5th, 2008 at 6:24 am
That looks really good!
Miri wrote @ August 6th, 2008 at 6:33 am
Your semifreddo looks so good, I’d like to dive right into it on this hot summer day! The photos are beautiful as well.
Zita wrote @ August 6th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
saw it on the roundup, rushed here, to enjoy somemore of your pics
Dhi wrote @ August 9th, 2008 at 1:01 am
wow, that looks soooooo yummy! Beautifully taken….
Actually it’s the perfect for the entry of foodie photo event this mid August.
Please have a look here for more info
http://cookingetcetera.wordpress.com/2008/07/07/red-white-foodie-photo-contest/
There’re some prizes for the lucky winners
Kevin wrote @ August 10th, 2008 at 3:31 am
That looks so good! I like the red and white marbling.
Looks and sounds absolutely superb! Well done!
didally wrote @ August 11th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
Kevin, Miri, Zita, Tarlette: Thanks for dropping by.
Dhi: Thanks for inviting me for the photo contest. I will submit my entry soon.
Farhan wrote @ August 11th, 2008 at 7:12 pm
Yummy..
Try Bulla Thickened Cream, its got a gelatin stabilizer so it whips easily. I get frustrated with cream too, sometimes even whipping cream doesnt whip well. i dont know why, maybe its this hot humid country.
Nilmandra wrote @ August 14th, 2008 at 11:34 am
The photo of the finished icecream setting in the large dish looks really pretty, especially with the patterns on top. Kudos to you for making your own ice cream!
Katie wrote @ August 26th, 2008 at 10:45 am
Home-made ice-cream is the only way to go! Not only does it taste better, but you know exactly what’s in it, so there’s no hidden preservatives or additives! It definitely looks so yummy, and I love the swirls - very artistic!
didally wrote @ August 26th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
Farhan: Thanks for the tip! Will try thickened cream if I ever make home made ice cream again.
Nilmandra and Katie: Thanks for your kind comments. I also love the swirls.
Laurie wrote @ September 26th, 2008 at 12:37 am
This is beautiful! Congrats on a job well done for your first ice cream.. very creative and yummy!
Fen wrote @ October 9th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
I nearly gonna ask where did have eat this… My ice-cream looks so good… Excellent for such a hot weather in Singapore…
Erm…I’ve finished my ice-cream and I want more food
didally wrote @ October 30th, 2008 at 10:57 am
Laurie: Thanks for the kind words.
Fen: Thanks for dropping by. I bet you are a dessert lover. All the dessert reviews in your blog makes me wanna go try them out too.
pablopabla: Sorry for the lack of posts. Been busy at work and just got back from a holiday. Give me some time to settle my stuffs before I start blogging again
Yay!! I’ll be stalking around
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