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Active Time
1 hr
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Total Time
2 3/4 hr
This sophisticated dessert makes the most of contrasting textures. The subtle floral flavor of wildflower honey connects all of the components.
Ingredients
Makes 6 dessert servings
For semifreddo
For sesame toffee
For honey wafers
For orange topping
Special Equipment
Make semifreddo:
Step 1
Sprinkle gelatin over 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl and let stand to soften.
Step 2
Beat cream in a bowl with an electric mixer until it just holds soft peaks, then chill, covered.
Step 3
Stir together honey, sugar, salt, and remaining 2 tablespoons water in a 1- to 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over moderate heat, stirring occasionally until sugar is dissolved. Boil, undisturbed, until mixture registers 238°F on thermometer (soft-ball stage; you may need to tilt pan to get temperature; see cooks' note, below), about 4 minutes.
Step 4
Beat yolks in a medium bowl with cleaned beaters at high speed until they are thick and pale, about 4 minutes. Reduce speed to medium and pour hot honey mixture in a slow stream into yolks (try to avoid beaters and side of bowl). Reserve pan. Immediately add gelatin mixture to hot honey pan, swirling until dissolved, then beat liquid gelatin into yolk mixture and continue to beat until mixture is pale, thick, and completely cool, 3 to 5 minutes.
Step 5
Fold one third of whipped cream into honey mixture with a rubber spatula until just combined, then fold in remaining whipped cream gently but thoroughly.
Step 6
会后分混合均匀,然后with plastic wrap and freeze until frozen, at least 1 hour.
Make sesame toffee:
Step 7
Line a baking sheet with parchment.
Step 8
Stir together cream, sugar, honey, and salt in a 1- to 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan and boil over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture is golden and registers 260°F on thermometer (hard-ball stage; see cooks' note, below), about 6 minutes.
Step 9
Remove mixture from heat and immediately stir in sesame seeds, then pour evenly onto parchment-paper-lined baking sheet and spread into a very thin layer (about a 9-inch round) with an offset spatula. Cool to room temperature, about 5 minutes (candy will be slightly flexible), then chill on sheet in the refrigerator until hard, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove toffee from parchment and break into very small pieces (less than 1/4 inch) with your hands or a rolling pin.
Make honey sesame wafers:
Step 10
Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth, then add honey, beating until combined. Beat in egg white until combined well, then reduce speed to low and add flour and salt until combined. Chill batter, covered, until slightly firm, about 30 minutes.
Step 11
Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 375°F.
Step 12
Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment. Using offset spatula, spread half of batter (about 1/3 cup) into a very thin, sheer 14- by 11-inch rectangle on 1 sheet. Using tip of spatula or a butter knife, section off 12 squares by scraping knife through batter to make a 1/4-inch-wide space between batter sections. Sprinkle half of sesame toffee evenly over batter. Repeat with remaining batter and brittle on second sheet. Bake wafers, switching position of sheets and rotating 180 degrees halfway through baking, until golden (some parts may be pale golden), about 8 minutes. Cool to room temperature on sheets on racks, about 10 minutes. Peel parchment off wafers.
Make orange topping:
Step 13
Peel and cut any white pith from oranges with a sharp knife. Cut oranges lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices, discarding white pith from center, then cut slices into 1/4-inch dice.
Assemble dessert:
Step 14
Fill a large bowl with cool water and dip 1 ramekin (with semifreddo) into water 3 seconds.
Step 15
Run a sharp paring knife around edge, then invert ramekin onto a dessert plate, gently releasing semifreddo. (It may be necessary to run knife around more than once and gently pry semifreddo out slightly; if necessary, smooth top and sides with knife.) Repeat with remaining ramekins.
Step 16
Spoon diced orange over and around each semifreddo and serve each with 1 or 2 honey sesame wafers.
• To take the temperature of a shallow amount of syrup, put bulb of thermometer in saucepan and turn thermometer facedown, resting other end against rim of saucepan. Check temperature frequently. • Honey wafer batter and sesame toffee can be made 3 days ahead and chilled, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap.
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Reviews (4)
Back to TopThis is an amazing dessert! Every time I make, everyone has to know all ab out it, the recipe, the procedure, the ingredients. That said, I do not do the oranges step. Also, since we don't eat grains, I substituted almond flour for the wheat flour and they still came out beautifully. The cracker step that called for the dough to be frozen is unnecessary. I usually take it straight from the bowl to a piece of parchment paper. Cover the lump with another piece of parchment paper and roll it out to the size of the 9 x 13 cookie sheet. Pull the top layer off the bottom and presto, you have cracker stuff on two sheets. Forget scoring it, as broken angles look a lot more fun and it'll break around the toffee pieces anyway, though sometimes I can cut through them with scissors. I just serve mine in the cups I froze it in.
dbrenton
1/30/2012
Oops! Sorry for double-posting... I hadn't realized that it takes a few minutes for a review to show up on after posting.
NotMod
1/3/2010
If you do not know what else but bred & butter works to let a particularly great honney reach the pallate, this is just the thing! Perfect! Spectacular recipe... Easy too. I did not make the wafers - puled the toffee to add crackling interest to the dewy [Hic!] semifredo. Had peeled plums in sirrup as garnish instead of orange... The sum total worked rather well (cannot ompare with the original, as I have not done it to the letter). Intend to make the wafers separately. And next time, there will be stuffed dates next to honneyed semifredo [dates, stuffed with almond paste, encased in cracking melted suggar - a memory from the south of Spain]. All in all, this my top honney desert right now, and I suspect it will hold its rank for a long, long whie.
NotMod
Bucarest, Ro.
1/3/2010
The clean honey taste is a hoot! I got lucky this autumn to get some particularly flagrant honey [easy down here] and this was the only recipe I had the heart to used it for, as the sum total flavor of the desert is mostly about the honey. As hoped, it did honey justice, and even how... For a change, I did not do the wafers, pulled the toffee in strings as a crackling accessory to the dewy [Hic!] semifreddo. Quite effective. Now, those wafers are quite tempting to try on their own (with caramelized, chopped walnuts, say). Seeing in believing...
NotMod
Bucharest, RO.
1/3/2010