Blackberry & Marshmallow Semifreddo

make the marshmallow

Put the gelatin in a small bowl. Add 4 tablespoons of cold water. Let the gelatin sit until it becomes spongy.

In a small saucepan stir together the sugar, 1/4 cup of corn syrup and 1⁄4 cup of water. Don’t begin heating, just set aside. In a medium bowl add the rest of the corn syrup. Using a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, begin to whisk the syrup on low speed.

Heat the gelatin in the microwave for 20 to 30 seconds. Stir the gelatin to ensure it is completely melted. Then slowly add the gelatin to the corn syrup mixture. Keep mixer on low speed.

Begin to heat the sugar mixture on the stovetop on medium to high heat. Stir continuously. Use a candy thermometer to watch the temperature. When the thermometer reaches 235 degrees F, remove the saucepan from the heat.

The corn syrup mixture will be thick by this time. Turn the mixer up to medium for one minute, and then slowly add the sugar mixture. Begin mixing on medium-high for 5 minutes. Add the vanilla and salt. Mix on high for one minute. The mixture will be very fluffy. Set the marshmallow aside.

make the semifreddo and sauce

Prepare a 5×9 loaf pan with parchment paper. Cut two pieces of parchment paper, each wide enough to cover the bottom of the pan and extended over the sides vertically and horizontally. Ultimately you will use the parchment paper to lift the semifreddo from the loaf pan. Alternatively, you could serve the semifreddo in individual dishes. In that case, no additional preparation of those dishes in necessary.

Puree the blackberries in a food processor, blender or, my favorite, the Magic Bullet. Pour the puree into a mesh sieve and using the back of a spoon or ladle push it through the sieve, separating the juice from the seeds. Divide the juice evenly in two bowls.

In one bowl, make the sauce by adding 2 tablespoons of sugar. Juice the lemon and stir in 1 teaspoon of juice. Cover and chill.

In the second bowl of blackberry puree, add 2 teaspoons of lemon juice.

In a small saucepan, add about an inch of water and heat to simmer.

Using an electric mixer beat the eggs, salt and 1/3 cup of sugar on medium to high speed for 5 to 8 minutes. The mixture will turn a pale yellow and will double in size.

Place the bowl over the simmering saucepan and insert a candy thermometer into the mixture. Beat with a handheld mixer or whisk vigorously until the thermometer reaches 160 degrees F. Remove from heat and chill mixture until it is cool. Softly, add in the blackberry puree. Mix until blended.

Using an electric mixer with a whisk attachment beat the cream until it holds stiff peaks. Be careful not to over beat. Softly, fold the cream into the blackberry mixture. Once well combined, carefully add three to four spoonfuls of marshmallow to the mixture. You can add more or less marshmallow according to your preference. Stir just until the marshmallow is distributed fairly evenly.

Pour the semifreddo into the prepared loaf pan. Cover with plastic wrap and place in freezer. It will be ready to serve in two hours. Serve within two days.

When semifreddo is frozen (it will still be a bit soft) and you are ready to serve, run a butter knife between the loaf pan and the parchment paper to loosen the semifreddo. Using the edges of the parchment paper, lift the semifreddo from the pan and transfer to a plate to remove the parchment. Serve with the blackberry sauce on a platter cut in slices or on individual plates.

Mint Infused Strawberry Ice Cream

make the custard

Rinse and dry the mint leaves. Remove the stems. In a large saucepan mix 1 cup of whole milk, 1 cup of cream and the mint leaves. Heat until the mixture begins to steam. Remove it from heat, cover and let it stand for 30 minutes. Reheat the mixture to a steam, remove from heat and let it stand for 15 more minutes. The mint is infusing the cream mixture. Using a small bowl, strain the mint infused cream mixture. Press the mint leaves against the strainer to extract as much of the liquid as possible. Reserve the mint leaves. Return the mint infused cream mixture to the saucepan and add 2/3 cup of sugar and salt. Heat on low medium until the mixture is steaming and the sugar is dissolved. Remove the saucepan from the heat.

In a large bowl, fill it 1/3 full with ice water. Place a medium size bowl in the ice bath and add the rest of the cream to the bowl.

In a medium bowl whisk the egg yolks. Pour in half of the mint infused cream mixture into the egg yolks, whisking while pouring so that the eggs are tempered. Pour in the remaining mint infused cream. Then pour the whole mixture back into the saucepan. Add the reserved mint leaves.

Heat the mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Heat for about 10 minutes or until the mixture reaches 165 degrees on a candy thermometer. The custard should coat the back of the spoon.

Immediately remove the saucepan from heat and pour the custard through a strainer into the cold cream. Stir until combined. Cover the mixture and refrigerate for 2 hours.

make the strawberries

Slice the strawberries in quarters. In a medium skillet heat 1/3 cup of sugar and the strawberries over medium. The sugar should melt into syrup. Stir over heat for about 5 minutes. Let cool. Puree half of the strawberry mixture.

freeze the custard

Using an ice cream maker such as a Kitchen Aid attachment, freeze the custard. In the last five minutes, add the strawberry mixture sauce and rum. The rum will keep the ice cream from freezing so hard once stored in the freezer.

Remove the ice cream from the maker and store in Tupperware and place in the freezer. Remove ice cream from freezer 5 minutes before serving.

Chocolate Chip Variation: If you would like, you can chop 3 ounces of dark chocolate and add the pieces when the strawberries are added.

salted caramel ice cream

make the caramel

In a dry, 10-inch skillet, heat 1 cup of sugar over medium heat. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until all of the sugar starts to melt. Continue to cook, stirring less frequently, until the sugar melts evenly and becomes a dark amber color. Before moving on, all of the sugar should be melted; no large pieces should remain.

Add the warm 1-1/4 cups cream to the sugar mixture. It is a good idea to use slightly warm cream to prevent the sugar from clumping. Stir until all of the caramel has dissolved. This will take patience. Don’t be tempted to raise the temperature above medium, just continue stirring until the caramel has dissolved. Transfer the caramel to a heat-proof bowl. Mix in the sea salt and vanilla. Cool to room temperature.

make the custard

In a small saucepan, bring the milk, remaining cream and sugar to a slight boil; stirring occasionally.

In a medium bowl, lightly whisk the eggs. Then add half of the warm milk mixture to the eggs, whisking continuously. Pour the egg/milk mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium heat. Continue stirring until the custard reaches 170 degrees on a thermometer (don’t let the mixture boil). To remove any of the solidified egg, pour the custard through a sieve into a large bowl. Stir the cooled caramel into the custard and mix until combined. Chill custard for at least 3 hours.

Using an ice cream maker or stand mixer attachment, freeze custard. I used a Kitchen Aid attachment and it took about 20 minutes to freeze. When ice cream is thickened to your preference, store in an airtight container and freeze for a few hours before enjoying.

If desired, top with chocolate or serve with warm apple pie.