Sunday, January 11, 2009

Half Frozen

It's been 12 years, 12 long years and now half of our country has been taken over by this strange, collective madness, called skating. For the first time in years, it has been cold enough that ponds, lakes, canals and small rivers are now frozen over and the ice is strong enough to go skating on. Many people braved the cold and the dangers last week and especially this weekend and put on their skates. Not me though, I was tired of the cold, having made my way to work this week by bike, left me weary of being half frozen, so instead of being out on the ice this weekend with my boy friend and mother-in-law, I stayed in my warm and cozy kitchen and decided it was time for ingredients to be half frozen and not me.

Cranberry Semifreddo

400 gr cranberries, fresh or frozen
125 gr confectioners sugar
200 ml Marsala wine
1 tsp cinnamon
150 gr meringues, home-made or store-bought, crumbled
300 ml cream, whipped


You can prepare this dessert several days in advance, but you have to start at least 6 and a half hours before you want to serve it.
Slowly heat the cranberries, the sugar, the cinnamon and the marsala untill it boils softly. Let the cranberries simmer for about 7 minutes or untill the cranberries are just cooked. Take 250 gr of cranberries and 2 tbsp of sauce and blend untill smooth in a blender. Let the rest of the sauce and the cranberries cool and save in the fridge till serving.
Quickly, but gently mix the crumbled meringues and the cranberry mixture through the whipped cream. You don't have to mix it perfectly, it is even prettier when there are pink stripes through the white cream. Transfer the mixture into small ramekins, which are oiled and lined with clean film. Cover the semifreddo and put in the fridge. Before serving take the semifreddo from the fridge and let it defrost a little, semifreddo means half frozen.
Empty the ramekins on a plate and serve the semifreddo with the cranberries and wine sauce. Enjoy!

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