Chocolate, Cardamom and Ginger Semi-freddo

Ingredients

250 g dark cooking chocolate
40 g unsalted butter
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
Pinch of ground cinnamon
1 capful liqueur (Cointreau or Grand Marnier)
60 g crystallised ginger, finely chopped
120 g Turkish delight, finely chopped
4 eggs, separated
20 g caster sugar
400mL thin cream

Method

Melt the chocolate and butter in a microwave. Stir the mixture until it is smooth. Let it cool a little.

Add the spices, egg yolks, liqueur, ginger and Turkish delight. Mix together.

Beat the egg whites to form soft peaks and then gradually add the sugar and continue beating until the sugar has dissolved.

Beat the cream until it is just firm.

Gently fold the egg whites into the cream.

Fold half of the egg white and cream mixture into the chocolate mixture until well combined.

Gently fold in the remaining egg white and cream until there are no streaks.

Spoon the mixture into a 30cm rectangular dish or tin lined with a few layers of cling film. Tap the dish on the table to remove any air bubbles. Cover the dish with cling film and freeze the semi-freddo for 3 hours, until set.

Turn it out of the dish, and slice to serve.



BACKGROUND:

Home cooking is at its best when it stops being a recipe and starts being something freer. Something that responds to what's in the market, what's in the fridge and who walks through the door. The tart you make on a hot Summer night while your friend tells you about their new love affair will be very different from the one you cook in Winter for your mother-in-law.

Credits: 'Homemade' by Anna Gare