Fig Semifreddo
In a beautiful world between ice cream and mousse is the semifreddo. It’s a semi frozen dessert that loves all fruit. It’s sweet and creamy and melts in your mouth just like ice cream but light and fluffy like a mousse. I found some amazing black mission figs and wanted to try something new with them; turning them into a rich simple syrup infused with the licorice flavored tarragon and sweet marsala wine, these are all whisked into a light rosé colored foam with egg yolks and then folded into whipped cream.
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb. figs, chopped
- 1/4 cup marsala wine
- 2 tsp. fresh tarragon
- 1 tbsp. brown sugar
- 3/4 cup whipping cream
- 2 egg yolks
Directions
Rough chop the figs and place into a small sauce pan along with the marsala, tarragon, brown sugar and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil and let simmer for about 30 minutes just until the figs are tender and the sugar has dissolved. Strain the liquid and discard the solids.
Reduce the liquid to over medium-high heat until there 1/2 cup left. Let it come to room temperature and cool down in the refrigerator.
In a large bowl, whip the cream until soft peaks, set aside.
Put a small sauce pan with 1 inch of water on the stove and get it simmering. Meanwhile, fill either your kitchen sink or a large bowl with ice water.
Put the egg yolks and fig syrup together in a metal bowl that will fit over the water-filled saucepan. Place bowl on top of the simmering water and whisk until the mixture thickens, and becomes foamy and triples in volume. It will be very smooth and thick. This can be done with either a balloon whisk or with an electric mixer to make life a little easier.
Take the bowl off the heat and set the bowl into the ice bath. Do not let any water get into the bowl. Whisk the mixture until it has completely chilled down.
Once chilled gently fold the foamy egg mixture into the whipped cream and fold until all combined.
Pour into either muffin tins or a loaf pan lined with plastic wrap, smooth down the top and cover with plastic wrap and freeze for up to 6 hours.
To serve, remove from the freezer and let sit out for about five minutes. This will help in softening the edges to remove out of the pan.
Garnish with honey and figs!!
