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Sunday, April 17, 2011

Sour Cream Dip




Be it for nachos, onion rings or just plain chips....this sour cream is the perfect accompaniment to anything you feel like dipping. And its so easy to make that you would wonder why on earth you ever paid so much to buy it.

Ingredients:

200 ml fresh cream (the small Amul fresh cream cartons work perfectly well)
1 tbsp curd
A pinch of salt

In a bowl pour in the fresh cream first. Add the curd and the salt to finish. Give it a good whisk and your sour cream dip is ready.

Tip: Experiment with some extra toppings. Chives, mint,paprika and pepper seem to work very well if individually added to give the cream some extra zing.

Note: Since this is fresh sour cream, it wont last even when refrigerated. It also tends to keep thickening and drying up as time passes so make sure you make this only if you plan to consume it in the next 15 mins.



Friday, April 15, 2011

Semi Freddo



The Semifreddo (say-mee-frayd-doh) is italian for half cold and is literally a range of semi-frozen desserts. It has the texture of a mousse. Most commonly known semi freddos are ice cream cakes and semi frozen custards.

I'm gonna share a delicious semifreddo recipe with you. Its a very basic recipe. The beauty of this recipe is that you can substitute the fillings with practically anything you like.Read on to find out



3 eggs, separated 
150g caster sugar
500ml cream
200g dark chocolate, finely chopped 
200ml dark chocolate sauce to serve (see recipe below)
Line the base of a loaf tin with double layer of cling film, leaving the excess hanging out over the edges. The cling film will help easily remove the semifreddo after its set. 
Whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl until pale and fluffy.
In a second bowl, whip the cream until it forms soft peaks. Gently fold the whipped cream into the egg yolk mixture.
In a third bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form firm peaks.  Carefully fold in the egg whites to the whipped cream and egg yolks mix.
Sprinkle a third of the chopped chocolate evenly into the base of the prepared tin.
Pour half the semifreddo mixture over the chocolate, followed by the next third of the chocolate. Finally pour over the remaining semifreddo and top with the remaining chocolate.
Cover with the excess cling film and freeze for at least six hours until solid.
Once it is set, carefully remove the semifreddo from the tin. This is where the excess double cling film helps. Turning it upside down onto the plate, and remove the cling film. Cut into slices, and serve with hot, freshly made chocolate sauce.
To make the chocolate sauce melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl sitting over a saucepan of gently simmering water. Whisk in the cream to give a smooth melted sauce and viola! your sauce is ready to be served with the semifreddo.
Tip:
I like to use half part chocolate and half part nuts for this semifreddo. Pecan, walnuts and hazelnuts work very well.
Add a touch of Bailey's Irish cream or Dulce de Leche liquer for a hint of caramel in your chocolate sauce
Dont like chocolate? No problem! Caramel sauce works perfectly well too
Substitute the chocolate filling for berries. Tastes as good with strawberries.