slightly cheated semifreddo

It’s getting warmer and warmer, so it’s time to start season for cold desserts. OK, maybe Scotland is not a perfect example of hot spring, but as one Scot has told me once: if you’d like to wait for a hot weather to eat an ice cream, you might never do it. Actually there is a theory proclaim by Peter Poortvliet of the University of Queensland, that eating ice cream warms you up. While it may seem logical that when you eat something cold, like ice cream, it should help reduce temperature. But its initial cooling effect is rapidly replaced by heat generated by digestive processes needed to break down the nutrients in ice cream (read more). So even better 😉

Original Italian semifreddo is made with eggs, my doesn’t contain any, so that’s why it’s slightly cheated. If it comes to baking or desserts I’m a master of disaster. Happened to me many times in the past, that my cakes has finished in the rubbish. But I’ve learned my lesson, that “more or less” rule doesn’t apply to baking. I still have some of the adjusted versions of recipes (like raspberry tiramisu) that are easier to make for these who’s a bit lazy in the kitchen 😉

That’s a keto version of this dessert, so instead of regular sugar I used substitute that does not raise blood sugar or insulin levels. You can also make it using regular powdered sugar. This frozen dessert is definitely better than one you can buy in the shop. No artificial flavours, no preservatives and colorants – there’s nothing better than homemade.

So let me introduce slightly cheated blackberry semifreddo.

semifreddo with blackberries

INGREDIENTS

· 500 ml whipping cream
· 2 tbsp buttermilk
· sugar replacement of your choice to taste (xylitol, stevia, erythritol)
· 150 g blackberries
· couple tbsp homemade chokeberry juice or any other dark fruit juice (blackcurrant fo example)

DIRECTIONS

Divide whipping cream in two even portions. Combine one part with buttermilk and set aside in room temperature for couple of hours. After it thickens, beat it with handheld mixer and some of the sugar replacement. Because of buttermilk, it’s not going to be as stiff as normal whipped cream, so don’t bother.

Beat the second part of cream with some more of sugar replacement of your choice. The amount depends of the type of sweetener you’ve chosen and how sweet you like it to be. For people who are on keto diet it’s not going to be a lot. Our sense of sweetness is different than people who consume sugar.

Now combine both creams together. Take few blackberries and leave them for decoration, mash the rest with chokeberry juice. Pour it to your cream and make a few swirls, so it makes a marble effect.

Pour it all to the loaf baking form (I’ve used silicon form), cover with foil and freeze for about 4 hours. It should be only half frozen – that’s why it’s semi – freddo. If you freeze it to much (as I did), no worries, put to the fridge for a while before serving. If you manage to wait 😉

Enjoy!