Plum Semifreddo Food

PLUM & AMARETTI SEMIFREDDO

Steps:

• Line a 30 x 20cm tray with cling film. Put the plums in a pan with 2 tbsp water and 110g of the sugar. Cover with a lid and stew over a medium heat for 10 mins until soft. Allow to cool slightly, then blitz with a hand blender. Pass through a sieve to remove the plum skins. Allow to cool.
• Put the remaining sugar in a pan with 150ml water, and dissolve over a low heat. Boil for 5 mins or until the mixture reaches 120C on a cooking thermometer.
• To make the meringue base, whisk the egg whites until stiff. With the beaters running, carefully pour the sugar mixture onto the egg white, whisking until thick. In another bowl, softly whip the cream, then gently fold in the liqueur, plum pulp, biscuits and the meringue. Pour into the tin, cover with cling film and freeze for a few hrs until set. To serve, remove from the freezer 5 mins before scooping into balls.

PLUM SEMIFREDDO

Steps:

• Coat a 9x5" loaf pan with nonstick spray and line with plastic wrap, leaving a generous overhang on all sides.
• Combine plums, cardamom, 1/3 cup sugar, and a pinch of salt in a medium saucepan. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until plums release their juices, about 5 minutes. Uncover and cook until plums soften and start to fall apart, 6-8 minutes longer. Let cool slightly.
• Purée plum mixture in a blender until very smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium bowl, pressing on solids. Let cool. Set aside 1 cup purée for serving.
• Whisk egg whites, a pinch of salt, and remaining 2/3 cup sugar in a medium heatproof bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer) and set over a saucepan of simmering water (do not let bowl touch water). Heat, whisking constantly, until sugar is dissolved and mixture is warm to the touch, about 4 minutes. Remove bowl from saucepan. Add vanilla and, using an electric mixer on high speed, beat until mixture is tripled in volume, glossy, and completely cool, about 10 minutes.
• Using clean beaters, whip cream in another medium bowl until soft peaks form. Fold 1/3 of whipped cream into eggwhite mixture until just combined. Fold in remaining whipped cream until just combined. Fold in plum purée just until large streaks appear throughout mixture.
• Transfer mixture to prepared pan and smooth top. Fold plastic wrap overhang over top and freeze until firm, at least 8 hours.
• Unwrap semifreddo and, using plastic overhang, gently lift from pan. Invert semifreddo onto a large platter, remove plastic wrap, and slice 1" thick; transfer to plates and let sit at least 5 minutes to soften slightly. Serve with reserved plum purée.
• DO AHEAD: Plum purée can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and chill. Semifreddo can be made 3 days ahead. Keep frozen.

LIMONCELLO & RASPBERRY SEMIFREDDO

Steps:

• Line the base of a 1kg loaf tin (19cm x 12cm x 9cm deep) with baking parchment. For the semifreddo, mash the raspberries and half the sugar in a bowl with a fork. Whisk the cream, the rest of the sugar and the limoncello to soft peaks. Beat the crème fraîche briefly so it is in soft peaks like the cream. Gently fold the cream mixture and crème fraîche together.
• Pour the mashed raspberries into the cream and give a few stirs only - just enough to swirl it through the creamy mix. Pour the mixture into the loaf tin and smooth the top.
• For the coulis, mash the raspberries, sugar and limoncello with a fork, then push through a sieve.
• Open-freeze (see 'Try' below) the semifreddo then cover with cling film and foil and freeze for up to 1 month. Pour the sieved coulis into a rigid container and freeze for up to 1 month.
• To serve, thaw the coulis in the fridge overnight. Thaw the semifreddo in the fridge for 1 hr. Remove it from the tin and peel off the lining paper. Drizzle with a little of the coulis and scatter some raspberries over the top. Serve in slices with the rest of the coulis.