You seemed puzzled... what may you ask is a semifreddo? Well, in the sunny shores of Italy, it's the next best culinary concoction to ice cream and is literally eaten in the bucket loads. With a multiple number of flavours, from your decadent devilish chocolate to light and refreshing berries, the semifreddo refers to the group of semi-frozen desserts. Similar to a mousse in texture, the semifreddo eaten straight from the freezer will not shock you with cold, but instead leave you cool and refreshed. A bit tricky to make, but if there is a will there will be a way, especially if we're dealing  with chocolate. So be brave, be adventurous and let the wonderful delights of the semifreddo into your lives. 

Ingredients 

165 g sugar 
3 medium-sized eggs, at room temperature 
2 egg yolks, at room temperature 
250 g dark cooking chocolate  chopped 
430 ml cream, full-fat 
2 tbsp cocoa powder 
Dark chocolate, cut into shards 

Preparation 

Place the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water and melt, stirring often. The bottom of the bowl must not come in contact with the simmering water otherwise the chocolate will burn. 

Once the chocolate is smooth and melted, remove bowl from the top of the pan and set aside to cool briefly. 

Place the sugar, the eggs and the egg yolks in another large heatproof bowl and set it over the same pan of barely simmering water. 

Using a hand-held mixer, beat the sugar with the eggs on medium speed for 6-7 minutes or until the mixture has doubled in volume, is pale in colour and has the texture of lightly whipped cream. You need to be careful not to let the water bubble underneath the bowl because your eggs might scramble. You need to keep the water at a bare simmer. 

Remove the bowl from the heat and continue beating the mixture on medium speed, in order to cool it down (you can transfer it to another clean bowl if you want). It will take 6-7 minutes to cool down and by this point, the mixture will be shiny and will have the texture of lightly whipped, smooth meringue. 

Fold the melted chocolate gently through the mixture with a metal spoon or spatula until well-combined, being careful not to completely deflate it. 

In the bowl, beat the cold cream on high speed until soft-peaks form. 

Sieve the cocoa powder over the whipped cream and fold it through gently, until fully incorporated. 

Fold the two mixtures together until combined, being careful not to deflate the mixture. 

Pour the semifreddo mixture into your lined loaf pan and place it in your freezer for at least 6 hours but preferably overnight. Serve the semifreddo cut into slices. Delicious! 

By Mayuri Jayasinghe