Coconut Rose Semifreddo and my July giveaway!

How I've gone through my entire life (4 months of which were spent in Italy for crying out loud) without ever tasting a semifreddo, I do not know. What I do know is that now that I've experienced it, there's no going back. And as someone who doesn't own an ice cream maker, the fact that all you need to make one is a whisk and a saucepan means there are going to be a lot of semifreddos in my life from now on. Oh yes.

But before we get to the roses and the semifreddo, some housekeeping. I have a lucky winner for my June giveaway and her name is Lacey Organ. Congratulations Lacey! Enjoy your beautiful Madder Root organic linen produce bags! Please contact me so we can get you your gift. Thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway, I thoroughly enjoyed reading all your responses. And thank you Madder Root for such a lovely giveaway! 

This month's giveaway is sponsored by Quirk Books. It's a wonderful new cookbook, hot off the presses, called Cooking With Flowers by Miche Bacher. 

This precious book is pure 100% delight. It will transport you to the magical world of flowers and the myriad ways you can cook with them. When I received my copy in the mail, I had to drop everything I was doing and I kind of went into this floral trance, completely lost in its pages. To enter the giveaway, all you have to do is leave me a comment below telling me why you'd like to win this book. The contest is open to residents of the US, Canada, and the UK. I'll announce the winner on August 1st.

Here are some of the recipes that I am dying to try: Oven-Baked Doughnuts with Lilac Cream Filling, Dandelion Fritters, Elderflower Marshmallows... and every single other recipe in the book! At the back of the book, Miche Bacher shows you how to make your own flower syrups, flower sugars, flower vinegars, etc...  so the sky's the limit and you can dream up your own fabulous recipes with your favourite edible flowers. Learning how easy it is to make flower syrups inspired me to make this rose petal and coconut semifreddo.

First thing, you need flowers. So my sister helped me pick some wild roses.

And then I also wanted some more vibrant-coloured roses, so my neighbour kindly allowed me to pick some from her garden. These ones were incredibly fragrant and have the softest petals. Smelling one is like sticking your nose into a little corner of paradise for a few delicious moments.

You can use any variety of roses to make a syrup, just be sure they have not been sprayed with any chemicals. Roses from the florists are generally treated with harmful chemicals so I would steer away from those.

To begin this recipe, I made a rose simple syrup. You simply boil 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar together. Once it's boiling, you remove it from the heat and pour it over 2 cups of the freshest most fragrant rose petals you can find (use only the petals). Cover and let this rest for about 12 hours before straining out the petals. That's a basic rose syrup, see? So easy! 

The rest of the recipe is all below.

ROSE COCONUT SEMIFREDDO

1 1/2 cup cold heavy whipping cream (35%)
1/4 cup rose syrup (see above)
1 cup fresh chemical-free rose petals

6 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup coconut cream (skim the top of a 13.5 oz / 400 ml can of full-fat coconut milk)
3/4 cup unsulfured, unsweetened coconut

Crispy topping (optional)
1/2 cup roughly chopped pistachios
1/2 cup unsulfured, unsweetened coconut
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp honey

Line an 8 x 4 inch (1 litre) loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the sides. (I cut 2 strips according the length and width of the pan and then criss-crossed them over each other, to avoid crumpling the paper). 

Beat the egg yolks and sugar in a medium-sized metal bowl on top of a saucepan of simmering water. Keep whisking constantly until the yolks turn pale yellow ribbony (this can take about 4 minutes). Transfer bowl to sit on top of a larger pan filled with ice cold water and whisk vigorously until the mixture is very thick and cooled down. Separate this mixture equally, placing half into another large bowl.

Whip the cream until peaks form. Add one third of the whipped cream to one of the bowls containing half of the egg mixture. Whisk until smooth. Add the remaining whipped cream and the rose syrup and fold gently. Add half of the fresh roses and fold in very gently. Put this aside. 

Remove the cream that rises to the top of a can of full-fat coconut milk. From a 13.5 oz / 400 ml can, you should be able to get 1 full cup of thick cream. Whip this until thick. Gradually incorporate it into the second half of the egg yolk mixture. Fold in the 3/4 cup dried coconut and mix well.

Pour the rose cream mixture into the loaf pan. Then scatter the remaining half of the rose petals on top of this. Pour the coconut cream mixture on top of the roses. Freeze this for 6 hours. 

If you wish to make a crispy topping for your semifreddo, in a large skillet, melt the 2 tbsp. butter and add the coconut and pistachios. Brown them in the butter until golden, then mix in the honey. Remove from heat and let this cool. Add this topping to the top of your frozen semifreddo and press it down well. Return to freezer for another hour or two. (Note: I struggled a bit with my topping because I did not freeze the semifreddo first so I couldn't press it down. As you can see from the photos, it was quite crumbly... I believe freezing the semifreddo first will remedy the problem.)

To serve your semifreddo, quickly dip your loaf pan in hot water and invert onto a serving platter. Dip a knife in hot water and wipe dry to slice the semifreddo. Enjoy!