Chocolate Semifreddo ( Chocolate Ice Cream)

Is another of my baking journey. I have some friends come over for dinner. He love lamb , so I decided to do a roast lamb. So when the menu set to be more western , I thought I should try something different about the dessert. Instead of doing my "usual" cake , why not try something else.

I happen to use Donna Hay recipe for my roast lamb so I happen to come by her Chocolate Semifreddo recipe. This recipe does not require an ice cream machine to make the delicious and rich frozen treat. It is easy and fast to prepare. Of course you have to prepare one night to freeze it before you serve ^^.

Hereby I shared this recipe with adding a little bit of my own "secret" ingredients, these ingredient when it combine in chocolate is just simply add an omph in it .

Recipe : ( Adapt from Donna Hay magazine Dec 2012)

Ingredients :

3 eggs
2 eggs yolks  extra
3/4 cup ( 165g) caster (superfine) sugar (I used brown sugar)
250 dark chocolate , melted ( used double boil method)
1 3/4 cup ( 430ml) single ( pouring) cream - I used pouring cream
2 tablespoons cocoa powder, sifted
2 tablespoons bailey - optional ( I added this to enhance the chocolate favor)

Method :

1. Place a metal bowl in freezer , for cream whipping used.
2. Place the eggs, extra yolks and sugar into a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water
3. Using a hand-held electric mixer , beat for 6-8 min or until the mixture is pale and thick and doubled in volume.
4. Gentle fold the melted chocolate and bailey into the egg mixture till well combine
5. Take the metal bowl out and whip the cream until soft peaks form and fold in the cocoa powder. 
6.Gently fold the cream through the above egg mixture, pour into a metal container, cover and freeze for 3-4 hours or until set.
7. Spoon into glasses and serve with fresh berries if desired.


Is such an easy and delight desserts. My guest simple love it though he asked me for the recipe I doubt he will do it himself. For a guy is still a bit too tedious to prepare all this when is more direct for them to pick up a tub from the super market.

Given am not so a chocolate lover , I find this ice cream is creamy and dark chocolate with bailey is just perfect to like a cream on top of the cake for a lovely western dinner night :)

Do try out this easy recipe and get impress yourself .

Pandan Red Bean Mousse Layer Cake

Gosh I only realised I have not update anything yet in Mar 13. March is about to end soon. How time past and flew without us knowing it.

Is the 1st quarter of year 2013. Scary, how I wish the days will not past by so fast and we have time to really pause and enjoy the spring .

I have this cake make for one of my beloved friend birthday. She is indeed a gems for us. She is very selfless and caring to the people around her. She is my leader in our christian fellowship group. Is not easy to lead so many young working adults who has so many opinions of their own . However she is very patience and always see the potential and good from others. Her birthday was in late Feb , I do not have time to post this cake till now . Aghh how busy life can be at time. We have her birthday celebrate in Korean restaurant and we sincerely wish whatever her prayer was on the birthday it will come true soon.

She told me one of her favourite is red bean . I was thinking to make the standard " Matcha and Red Bean Mousse " .After looking through the recipe , I knew Matcha is not her fancy but we all love pandan. I am sure pandan go perfectly well with red bean ( afterall we used to put pandan leave while boiling red bean) . Hence this is another so call my own invention cake with some adaption on other recipe :

Biscuit Base 

Ingredients

100g Digestive Biscuits
70g  melted butter

Method:

1. Crushed digestive biscuits till fine crumbs.
2.Combine the biscuits and the melted butter well and press evevnly into a 8"inch square loose base baking tin
3. Put in the fridge let it chill and set for assemble later


Pandan ChiffonCake ( I used the same recipe as my Pandan Layer Cake )
( I make the cake in square mould instead and slice into 3 layer, this cake only yield for 2 layer)

Ingredients:

4 egg yolks
90g castor sugar
160g Cake flour, sifted
1/2 tsp baking powder, sift with flour
1/2 tsp baking soda, sift with flour

100 ml coconut milk
1 tsp pandan essence
50g corn oil

4 egg whites
60g sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

 

Method :

1.Beat the egg yolks with sugar till pale white, add in the coconut milk mix well

2.Add in the corn oil mix well with whisk, follow by the flour and combine the mixture till well and smooth

3.Beat egg whites and cream of tartar at medium speed with electric mixer until the egg whites are bubbly. Add sugar and whip at high speed until stiff form but not dry.
4.Fold 1/3 of whipped egg whites into flour mixture of Step 2. Then, pour this mixture to the remaining egg whites in the other mixing bowl. Fold lightly to combine both mixtures.

5.Pour this combined mixture into a greased and line 8-inch round cake pan

6.Bake at a preheated oven at 165 deg C for 40-45 minutes until a skewer insert come out clean.

7.As soon as the cake is removed from oven, quickly invert the pan and let it cool.

8.When the cake is completely cool, run a knife around the sides of pan to remove the cake(I remove the line baking paper and tear it carefully).

9.Slice cake into 4 layers.Let it cool before we assemble the cake

Red Bean Mousse (Adapt from mykitchenof love)

Ingredients 

1 Tbsp gelatin

3 Tbsp of water

400g Chunky Azuki Bean ( I bought a tin from store)

360g  Pouring Cream

 As there are sugar contain in the canned azuki bean , I did not put any sugar in this mousse.

Method :

 

1. Put a metal bowl in the freezer for later use to whip the cream

2. Put water in a bowl, sprinkle gelatin powder onto the water and let it bloom.Place the bowl on another bigger bowl of hot water to dissolve the gelatin .

3. Take out the metal bowl from the freezer , using electric mixer to whip the pouring cream till soft peak forms.

4. Pour the Azuki bean in a mixing bowl, slowly pour in the gelatin and mix thoroughly.

5.Genlty fold the cream into the Azuki bean mixture .

Assemble:

1. Take out the biscuit base square tin from the fridge, pour 1/3 of the red bean mousse on top of the biscuit base.Even it with a spatula

2. Place one layer of the pandan chiffon cake on top of the red bean layer. Slightly press the cake down.

3. Pour the rest of the red bean mousse on top of the pandan chiffon cake ( step 2) . Smooth it evenly , place the 2nd layer of pandan chiffon cake on top.Press the cake slightly down.

4. Put in the fridge for an hour to let the mousse set.

My measurement of the red bean mousse in between the cake layer was not that even, so please do according to your preference.

 

As I need to have a nice smooth topping to cover the surface of the cake , I decided to do a Coconut Panna Cotta  layer to pour onto it to finish off my cake .

Ingredient

250 ml Coconut Milk
50 ml  Whipping Cream
60 g White Chocolate
1.5 Tbsp Gelatin
4 Tbsp of  Water

Method

1) Pour 4Tbsp of water in a bowl, sprinkle 1.5 Tbsp gelatin on top of it and let it bloom.
2) In a saucepan, combine the coconut milk and cream. Bring it to a boil and simmer for one minute.
3) Remove the pan from the heat and add the white chocolate and gelatin.
4) Stir the chocolate and gelatin until completely dissolved.

When the cake has set well , pour the Coconut Panna Cotta layer onto the cake. Refrigerate the cake for at least 4 hours. 

Unmould the cake and decorate the surface as you like. I do a neat simple deco on my cake with some chocolate I prepared.

The recipe seem to be long , however you can modify as per your liking. It can start off with the pandan chiffon cake layer instead of the biscuit base.

 

How the cake taste like ?? Oomph.. the combination of pandan and red bean is perfect , top with little creamy coconut is just like the dessert we all love.

 

Hope you will try it yourself