Pineapple and Coconut Semi-freddo

I think I may have mentioned more than once that I have a slight soft spot for ice cream! It really is that one food stuff that I just can’t get enough of and that I really can’t say ‘No’ to. I even find myself spending quite a lot of time on-line reading about delectably delicious ice cream recipes (sad I know…but food is my favourite hobby!). Anyway it was on one of these recent trawls of ice cream containing food blogs that I stumbled across a recipe that had been submitted for a ‘bloggers scream for ice cream’ challenge. This challenge is run by Kavey of Kavey Eats and each month a theme is set for the type of iced treats for bloggers to experiment with before submitting their recipes to Kavey who compiles them into one big directory of gorgeous ice creaminess!

As June is the start of the summer (yes honestly it is summer) the theme for this month is fruit. And I couldn’t resist joining in this challenge whether the sun is shining or not. But obviously I had to come up with a recipe that fits in with my blog and so the pineapple and coconut semi-freddo was born. By using coconut milk there are no dairy products in this recipe so great for all those out there that are lactose intolerant. As a semi-freddo rather than typical ice cream recipe there is also no need for an ice cream maker so there are no excuses not to get into the kitchen and whip this block of tropical yumminess up!!

INGREDIENTS

1 handful of fresh mint springs – roughly chopped

300g fresh pineapple (which has been peeled and cored)

105g caster sugar

4 egg yolks

1 400ml tin of coconut milk (try and chose a thick and creamy variety)

Dice the pineapple into medium sized chunks and then place in a bowl with the chopped mint and 30g of the sugar. Mix to ensure the pineapple is evenly coated with the sugar and mint and set to one side.

Take a loaf tin and line with cling film.

Put the egg yolks with the remaining 75g of sugar into a heatproof bowl. Set the bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, ensuring that the bottom of the bowl doesn’t actually touch the water. Then using an electric hand mixer beat the sugar and eggs together until thick and glossy. It will probably take a good 10 minutes for the eggs to get to the required consistency.

Remove the egg mixture from the pan and continue to beat for another 5 minutes to allow the mixture to cool slightly.

Then add the coconut milk to the egg mixture a little at a time, mixing again after each addition of the coconut milk.

Once all of the coconut milk had been added to the egg mixture fold in the pineapple and mint that has been macerating nicely in the bowl that was set aside earlier.

Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf tin and pop into the freezer for at least 4 hours.

As semi-freddo literally translates as ‘half frozen’ it is best to remove the semi-freddo a bit before you want to serve it up. Then remove from the tin, peel back the cling film and slice into generous portions before tucking in!