Lavender Blueberry Semifreddo

For this purple dessert I've combined two purple powerhouses: lavender and blueberry. In spite of the name, blueberries are distinctly purple once they are cooked. Those pesky, unstable fruit pigments are so fickle. But the combination of blueberries and lavender is not just for color, the floral notes of lavender compliment blueberries' robust character magnificently.

Semifreddos (transl: semi-frozen) are a wonderful dessert, and an especially wonderful way to make a frozen treat without an ice cream machine. Cream (and sometimes egg whites) are whipped, folded into a sweet, flavored base and then frozen. You can shape a semifreddo with just about anything you want-- ,muffin tins, a loaf pan, paper coffee cups. Just line the mold with plastic wrap, fill with your beautiful whipped filling and a few hours later you'll have an elegant frozen treat. Semifreddos are at their best when they are served with a contrasting warm element. For this dish, I've kept some of the blueberries warm to contrast the cold of the semifreddo. And I added a walnut streusel for just a little crunch and a delicious nutty flavor. Hope this decadent dessert helps you beat the heat and enjoy summer's bounty.

For those interested in further reading, I've been inspired to play along with the rainbow contest, and I've been cooking up a whole bunch of colorful dishes. You can check out other colorful recipes at my blog, www.kitchentablescraps.com. The attached pdf is simply the recipe, in a printer-friendly format.


Lavender Blueberry Semifreddo

Ingredients:

2 ½ t. dried or fresh lavender flowers
1 t. loose leaf earl grey tea or one bag of earl grey tea
2/3 c. sugar
1 c. water
pinch salt
1 pt. blueberries
½ t. corn starch
1 ½ - 2 c. whipping cream

Walnut Streusel:
S c. walnuts
¼ c. brown sugar
¼ c. butter
¼ c. flour
pinch salt

Yield:
6 servings

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Step 1: Poach Blueberries & Make Syrup

Make Lavender Syrup:
Place lavender, tea sugar and water together in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let infuse for 10 minutes. Strain out the lavender and tea.

Make Streusel:
Toast walnuts in a 350°F oven for 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Reduce oven heat to 300°F. Set aside to cool. Cut butter, brown sugar, flour and salt together until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Chop the walnuts and add to the streusel. Spread the streusel mix out onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes, until the streusel is lightly browned and crisp. Stir and rotate the sheet once during baking.

Poach Blueberries:
Bring the strained syrup to a boil and add in the blueberries. Turn the heat down to low and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the blueberries to poach for 10-15 minutes, until tender. Strain syrup, in all likelihood a few blueberries will have broken down in cooking and left the syrup purple. If not crush a few blueberries into the syrup and strain out the skins. (You want a little fruit in the syrup) Place the syrup over high heat and boil for 5 minutes. The syrup should reduce and slightly thicken. Mix ½ t. corn starch with 1 t. cold water. Add the corn starch slurry to the boiling syrup and cook for one minute, stirring constantly while the syrup boils. Measure out 1/3 c. of the blueberry syrup (this should be most of it). Pour the 1/3 c. syrup into a bowl, cover and refrigerate until cold. If you are making the semifreddo immediately, place the bowl of syrup in an ice water bath to cool it down more quickly. Pour the rest of the syrup in with the blueberries.

Step 2: Whip Cream & Mix Semifreddo

Whip Cream: Once the syrup has chilled, you can mix and mold the semifreddo. Line whatever your semifreddo mold with plastic wrap. Whip 2 c. cream to a soft peak. Do not overwhip! Once the cream starts to thicken the texture changes very rapidly.

Mix Semifreddo: In a large bowl, gently a scoop of the whipped cream into the chilled blueberry syrup. Continue folding in more whipped cream until the mixture is a light purple color and tastes lightly sweet. (Adding more cream will make the semifreddo milder and firmer. Less cream and it will be stronger, sweeter and softer.) I added all two cups, and the texture of my semifreddo was pleasantly firm. (Check the comments section, I've added a few notes on texture of frozen desserts)

For a more textured semifreddo, fold in a few of the poached blueberries and some streusel topping. Delicately scoop semifreddo into molds and freeze for a few hours, until firm. Well covered, the semifreddo will keep in the freezer for several weeks.

Step 3: Serve

Serve:
Take semifreddo out of the freezer 10-20 minutes before you want to serve it, removing plastic wrap. Warm blueberries. Serve semifreddo with blueberries and streusel topping