Desserts

Honey Semifreddo with Honey Lemon Caramel and Hazelnut Crumb

This dessert is a honey custard dome resting on top of hazelnut crumb and topped with a lemon caramel. And to add to the royal experience of this dessert, a ‘crown’ of candied lemon rests on top.

Although this dessert may look a bit complicated at first, it’s actually easier than making traditional ice cream since there is no churning involved. To make it easier, you could spread the steps out over several days.

To make this dessert, first you make a custard using eggs, sugar, honey, and whipped cream:

Even though I was tempted to start eating the mixture straight out of the bowl, I decided to follow instructions and freeze it in six dome-shaped molds (remember- no churning required)!

After flipping the domes over, add the hazelnut crumb, honey lemon caramel, and candied lemon. Then go ahead- pretend you really are royalty for a few seconds as you down this delicious dessert!

Honey Semifreddo with Hazelnut Crumb and Honey Lemon Caramel

Print Recipe
Serves: 6 Cooking Time: 60 mins + 2 hour chill time

Ingredients

  • Honey Semifreddo:
  • 1 egg + 1 yolk
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 3 gelatine leaves dissolved in cold water
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • Candied Lemon:
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup water
  • Rind of ½ lemon, cut into thin strips
  • Hazelnut Crumb:
  • ¼ cup hazelnuts
  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 3 Tbsps. salted butter
  • Honey Lemon Caramel:
  • ½ cup honey
  • ¼ cup cream
  • Juice of ½ lemon
  • Salt to taste

Instructions

1

Soak the gelatine leaves in a bowl of cold water until soft and dissolved. For the Honey Semifreddo, add the egg, egg yolk and sugar to a heat-proof bowl. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and whisk for about 5 minutes until the mixture is pale and foamy. Stir in the soaked gelatine leaves; remove pan from heat and fold in the honey.

2

In a separate bowl, whip the cream with electric beaters until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the whipped cream into the honey/egg mixture then transfer the mixture to 12 x 6 hemisphere ‘dome’ molds. Set in freezer until set.

3

For the Hazelnut Crumb: pre-heat oven to 180 C (350 F). Place hazelnuts on a lined baking sheet and roast for 10-15 minutes until golden. Remove from oven, place in a clean tea towel and rub to remove the skins. Place in a food processor and pulse until the nuts are finely ground.

4

Combine the ground hazelnuts, flour, sugar and butter in a bowl; rub the mixture together with finger tips until consistency of crumbs. Bake on a lined baking tray until golden (about 15 minutes)- stirring half-way through to ensure even baking.

5

For the Candied Lemon, peel the rind off of ½ lemon, avoiding the white pith. Slice rind into thin pieces. Bring 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar to boil in small saucepan. Add lemon rind slices, reduce heat and let simmer for 20 minutes. Remove lemon strips and set aside on tray lined with parchment paper.

6

For the Honey Lemon Caramel, cook the honey and cream together over medium heat until mixture starts to thicken and turn dark brown. Add the lemon juice and pinch of salt and continue to cook, for a total of about 12 minutes.

7

To serve, place the dome on top of some Hazelnut Crumb, top with a piece of candied lemon and some Honey Lemon Caramel.

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17 Comments

  • Reply
    John / Kitchen Riffs
    October 7, 2020 at 11:43 am

    You did well to avoid the temptation of eating this straight from the bowl! I doubt if I’d have had that restraint. 🙂 Anyway, this looks great — and not too complicated to make. Thanks!

    • Reply
      Fran Flint
      October 7, 2020 at 2:01 pm

      Thanks John. I agree that it’s not too complicated- just takes a bit of time to assemble all the components.

  • Reply
    angiesrecipes
    October 7, 2020 at 1:10 pm

    wow This is something that you can only order in a fine dining restaurant. I really love the presentation. Well done, Fran!

  • Reply
    Fran Flint
    October 7, 2020 at 2:02 pm

    Thanks Angie. If I ordered this in a fine dining restaurant, it would probably cost at least $15 (probably more). This way, I can eat all six of these desserts for a fraction of the cost!

  • Reply
    David Scott Allen
    October 7, 2020 at 11:27 pm

    A gorgeous and, as you say, not-too-complicated show-stopper! Have added it to my list of your recipes to make. (I’m making your lemon babas for a friend’s birthday at the end of the month! Very excited!)

    • Reply
      Fran Flint
      October 8, 2020 at 3:57 pm

      Thanks David. Yeah, that Lemon Baba recipe is a good one- hope your friend enjoys it!

  • Reply
    ChefMimi
    October 8, 2020 at 12:19 am

    Goodness, that is just gorgeous!!!

  • Reply
    Katerina
    October 10, 2020 at 9:08 pm

    What a fabulous presentation, Fran! It is absolutely fit for company – perfect for parties and celebrations. I love desserts which look complicated and taste delicious but actually fairly easy to put together. This looks absolutely delightful!

  • Reply
    Rahul
    October 12, 2020 at 9:17 am

    Love all your recipe Fran. They are such a treat for the eyes. You are amazing

  • Reply
    Juliana
    October 14, 2020 at 5:53 am

    OMG Fran, what an elegant dessert…love everything in it… the creamy semifreddo and the hazelnut crust…thanks for the recipe.
    Have a wonderful rest of the week!

  • Reply
    Raymund
    October 15, 2020 at 6:23 am

    Such a lovely looking dessert! So elegant

  • Reply
    lisaiscooking
    October 27, 2020 at 6:35 am

    This looks like fun to make! First, I need a dome mold. Great presentation!

  • Reply
    Sammie
    October 29, 2020 at 2:28 am

    This screams professional! It looks so gorgeous and decadent!

  • Reply
    James
    May 27, 2021 at 6:15 pm

    I tried to follow your recipe but unfortunately it has errors in the ingredients list and the cooking time of 25 minutes is completely inaccurate. Even if you reorder the steps to do them in the most efficient way, and work on multiple steps at the same time, it is not possible to do this in 25 minutes. And there is no mention of the setting time which adds at least another 2-3 hours to the time needed to make this dessert. Regarding the ingredients, the hazelnut crumb has “butter” in the recipe twice, but no flour, so I assume one of the butters should be a flour, but which one?

    • Reply
      Fran Flint
      May 29, 2021 at 12:15 am

      James, thanks for your comment. I have now fixed the ingredients for the Hazelnut Crumb. I have also fixed the ‘Cooking Time’ to reflect 60 minutes for the active cooking time and an additional two hours for chilling time for the dessert to set.

  • Reply
    Wouter
    September 6, 2022 at 12:24 pm

    Hi Fran,

    Do you think this would be possible to make in advance? Let’s say, the evening before? Or would this ruin certain elements of the dish?

    Cheers

    • Reply
      Fran Flint
      September 6, 2022 at 3:21 pm

      Thanks for your comment! You could make the Semifreddo, hazelnut crumb, and candied lemon the day before, but I’d recommend making the caramel before serving since it needs to be a bit ‘runny’ when you pour it on top of the dessert. I was lucky to get a nice shape for my candied lemon (looks sort of like a crown). Hope you enjoy it!

    I love comments!