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Friday, September 23, 2011

Mixed Berries Vanilla Semifreddo - Blueberry Week # 3


If you think that if you don't have an ice cream maker, your ice cream will be grainy and icy. Then you should try this. It's smoooooooooooooth. Maybe due to the absense of water or liquids, this semifreddo is smooooooooooth. The yolks used here are raw, therefore I recommend that you get yourself some pasteurized eggs, available in major supermarkets in the chiller section.


I rewrote the instructions as I assembled this base on the picture in the book. The instructions don't sound like what it showed. It was supposed to be like a big mac. You know, with a 3 pieces of bun and in this semifreddo, the meringue is the bun. But the picture only shows one meringue, that is on the bottom. And the berries don't look mixed in, instead are meticulously assembled. For new bakers, this book will definitely create havoc and the instructions are sometimes unclear, too short, or doesn't match the picture. You have to read it through and through and make your own adaptations if needed.

I also constructed my own casing for this semifreddo instead of using cookie cutter or mini cake rings as I do not have any of those mentioned. And being a homebaker, I can hardly get the meringue pieces uniform in size. Some big, some smaller, some round, some ovalish. Some even looked squarish. They just don't look perfect. So, if you make customized rings according to each meringue, you definitely will make them fit like a glove, preventing any leakage.

Actually I made this the same time as I made my Peach Sorbet Vanilla Ice Cream cake for this year's Ching Ming(Chinese All Sou's Day) when the relatives came back. And this was the first choice for them to eat, maybe it's more colourful? Or maybe it looked more special in the casing :)
The meringue base also added a wonderful light crunch to the "ice cream". Which made me loved this so much in contrast to the smoooooooooth semifreddo. Ther frozen fruits also lightened up this rich frozen dessert. Very delicious.. very.






Mixed Berries Vanilla Semifreddo
Recipe adapted with modifications: Dessert by Page One

Meringue
2 egg whites (pastuerized)
1 tsp cream of tartar (you must use this amount with pastuerized eggs, if not you won't get them to whip)
100gm sugar

Preheat oven to 100C. Beat the egg white with sugar until stiff peaks. Drop spoonsful (I piped 2.5 inch rounds) of the mixture onto a lined baking sheet, and bake for 1 hour. Let meringue cool down and peel off the parchment paper. Keep in air tight container until time of use. Select your favourite 12 pieces and leave the rest for snacking.

Plastic Casing
Prepare 4 firm plastic sheets (like transparencies type of plastic sheet, you can buy those used as covers for comb binding documents, or just recycle those from your kid's project documents). Cut each sheet along the long side into 3 long pieces. Prepare 12 pieces.

When it's time to make the filling, take one sheet of plastic and one meringue. Place meringue on a flat surface and wrap the plastic around the meringue, securing the ends with sticky tape. It should fit snugly and will look like a drinking glass with the meringue on the bottom. Place all wrapped meringue onto a tray/container that you will use for freezing later.

Semifreddo Base
2 egg yolks (pastuerized)
50gm sugar
100gm whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp gelatin
1 Tbsp water
2 cups of mixed berries (I used strawberries and blueberries)

Place water into a heatproof bowl and sprinkle gelatin over. Melt and let it cool down.
Whip cream until soft peaks and place in fridge.
With the same beaters(I didn't bother to wash), beat eggs and sugar until  light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla extract.
With lowest speed, beat in whipped cream and the melted gelatin. Use immediately

Assembly
Divide berries into half. Put half the berries into prepared cases.
Spoon the mixture into cases over the berries, dividing equally.
Spoon remaining berries right into the center of the semifreddo base and freeze until firm. After the semifreddo has frozen well, transfer to a covered container to prevent frost bits on the fruits and to maintain the crispness of the meringue.

To Serve:
Place semifreddo on serving dish, with a sharp knife/blade, cut the sticky tape like as seen in this post and discard the plastic wrap.

34 comments:

  1. It sure look delicious with those berries on top. You must have painstakingly have to cut out the plastic casing instead of using the disposable transparent plastic small. I'm looking at your photos again and again, and my saliva slowly drooling..... hee....

    ReplyDelete
  2. Perfect desserts with lots of fruits. Looks refreshing good ... yummy!

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  3. Mel,
    It's not hard to just cut them with scissors. Straight line only :)
    My meringue pieces come in all different sizes, which is why I have to custom make each casing, but that is not hard, just wrap and stick :p

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Wendy,

    Nothing is impossible to you eh.....LOL, see, no ice-maker also no problemo....different method, different outcome, and yet, it's still as awesome and yummy, right ;) Cheers!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. what an impressive dessert! looks like something they served in 5 star dining...

    I should try this when I have dinner parties... :)

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  6. Just yesterday I was saying how great was lena's ice cream recipe and then here comes yours! Ok, if I see pasteurized eggs will make this...perfect for the hot weather today! 

    ReplyDelete
  7. you are so rajin huh, this is look so tempting!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Mumto4Angels,
    That's why I make semifreddo looooo


    Food Dreams,
    That'll be perfect because you can prepare this days or even weeks ahead, just put on plate and remove the plastic to serve. Easy peasy


    Bee,
    Do try this out :)


    Sonia,
    I dun live in places to have easy access to good food. What to do? Make lor.


    Yummy Bakes,
    Thank you

    ReplyDelete
  9. HI wendy,

    I'm soo drooling over this.. May I know how you assembled those plastic casing? you glued them or stapler or using tape?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Ribbon clown,
    It's in the instructions.

    ReplyDelete
  11. you did a lot of desserts recently, your family will be super happy...
    you make me drooling over this semifreddo...can courier 1 for me? i'm not very far from you only la...haha

    ReplyDelete
  12. Sherleen,
    Oh no.... As I said in one of my earlier post, I didn't make all these recently. Most of them were collected over time.
    As said in the post, this was made around this year's Ching Ming, which was in April.

    ReplyDelete
  13. This is really an art!!! Love the look of it!!!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Your dessert look like it came out of a 5 star restaurant. They are so pretty and I bet they taste even better.

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  15. I love this dessert! I think you ake me relook the defination of frozen fruits, they looks so lovely and fresh!

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  16. i dont think can get this elsewhere except from you..haha! does the filling taste like custard?

    ReplyDelete
  17. hanushi,
    thanks


    Gert,
    very delicious


    Ah Tze,
    Berries always stay true to their colour when frozen :)


    Lena,
    It's ice cream. Semifreddos are non-churned ice creams. :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Haven't try also know its super delicious! The colours of the berries are so beautiful!! same here....send one here please....;p

    ReplyDelete
  19. Love ur cooking, the presentation, the story behind...everything...:)

    ReplyDelete
  20. Swee San,
    So long ago, now only u ask for it, kakakaka.


    Reese,
    Melt lor...


    Chah,
    Thank you for appreciating the story behind, you're one of the rare ones :)

    ReplyDelete
  21. Love your bakes! Makes me drooling over this, also your lovely macaron. Alway wanting to leave you a comment, but due to my com setting. I find it difficult to leave comment on some blog. Have been reading some of your past posting, really pei fu. The way u prepared your confinement food to bb full mth.

    ReplyDelete
  22. This really look so yummy & I'm pretty sure my family will like to try this. BTW, I did your Purple sweet potato rose bun & every one was so impressed. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  23. You really put in a lot effort to make your delicious looking desserts, this one is no exception....so beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Love the individual serving of those semifreddo. They look very inviting too!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Simply beautiful! :D You have a natural flair in making food look good!

    ReplyDelete
  26. muimui,
    thanks...


    Mary Chey,
    glad they loved the buns and I hope they love this semifreddo too.


    Jeannie,
    This one will be pretty on its own, provided you don't mess up the berries. Not much effort, just a mint to spice up the look.
    you can do this too.


    Angie,
    Thanks


    Ling,
    Choose recipes that look colourful, then they will look good, LOL.

    ReplyDelete
  27. May i know how to make pastuerized egg yolks?
    Thanks. Soh.

    ReplyDelete
  28. soh,
    Sorry, but I don't know how to make pastuerized eggs. I only know how to buy them from major supermarkets as said in the first paragraph. Try Jusco.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Ok thanks. But now i have another problem. Why does the meringue start to become sticky after it cools? So what must i do now? Thank you for your advice.

    Soh.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Soh,
    Did you make this when it was raining and no airconditioning turned on? When it's raining, the air is very humid, or when it is very cloudy. When you turn on the aircond, the air gets drier and hence the meringue won't get sticky upon cooling.
    But, another factor could be your sugar isn't well dissolved when you beat it.
    Don't leave it outside too long. Our weather is very humid, therefore when it has cooled down (won't take long) immediately pack them into air tight containers. Or, leave them to cool down slowly in the oven. The residual heat will continue to crisp it up. But same goes, pack it immediately after cooling.
    But it won't soften when you pile the semmifreddo mixture on as the freezer(of which is very dry) will keep the meringue dry and crisp.

    ReplyDelete
  31. soh,
    Oh yes, try drying it again in the oven, on a low temperature, maybe about 120/130C, about that. But I hope it hasn't melted by now.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Ok thank you. It still managed to turn out nice:D thank you for ur tips:D

    ReplyDelete

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