Lemon Myrtle Semifreddo with Candied Rose Petals by Toby Osmond & Annabelle Hickson of Cafe Gali
Serves 8
Semifreddo
480ml cream
½ cup sugar
8 egg yolks
120ml water
5 lemon myrtle leaves, torn into pieces
1 lemon, zest and juice
raspberries and blueberries,
to serve
Candied Rose Petals
rose petals
egg white
sugar
Lightly whip the cream and set aside in the fridge. With an electric mixer, whip the egg yolks until pale, light and creamy. Set aside.
Put the sugar, water and torn lemon myrtle leaves into a saucepan. Bring to the boil then simmer about 3 minutes. Strain into a small jug, discarding the leaves.
Whip the egg yolks again while slowly pouring in the hot syrup. Keep beating until the mixture is cool, at least 3 minutes. It will actually look less like egg yolks and more like a very gooey, pale meringue mixture. Fold in the whipped cream, lemon zest and juice.
Pour into a mould (such as a mini-loaf tin) lined with plastic wrap. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze overnight. Put it in the coldest part of the freezer: the faster it freezes, the creamier it will be.
To candy the rose petals, remove the white bit at the pointy end of the petals (it is bitter) and paint both sides with egg white. Then dip in sugar, covering the entire petal with granules and leave to dry for a few hours on a rack.
To serve, remove the top layer of plastic wrap, place a platter over the top and, holding the tin and the platter together tightly, flip. Ease out of the tin, remove the rest of the plastic wrap and scatter the candied petals over the top before slicing individual serves.
Serve with a side of berries.