Panettone Semifreddo Ice Cream Sandwiches

This post is sponsored by Wilfa

Just because it’s winter doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy a frozen dessert; I’m of the firm belief that ice cream is an all weather affair. This particular frozen treat is a brilliantly festive semifreddo sandwiched with panettone. Semifreddo, half frozen in Italian, is a traditional no churn ice cream from Italy. Made with a whipped egg foam and whipped cream it’s brilliantly creamy and rich, flavoured with pieces of amaretto and frozen cherries. If you saw my video earlier this week on toasted milk powder, you can also add a tablespoon of that to the semifreddo to really boost the flavour. Once frozen the semifreddo is cut into discs and sandwiched between two pieces of panettone, a great use for the Christmas bread.

To make the semifreddo, I used my Wilfa Smooth Mix Hand Mixer. The mixer has Wilfa’s characteristic stylish design, like all there products, and of course brilliant function. It has a 5-speed action plus a boost button for when you need a little extra speed. For a hand mixer it also has a very impressive 500W motor meaning it has more than enough power. The thing that stands out for me though is how the mixer handles. Hand mixers are notorious for vibrating and over sustained use can be annoying to hold. The Wilfa hand mixer is much more stable and much nicer to use. I also think it would make a brilliant Christmas present, and using my code THEBOYWHOBAKES you can get 20% off!

Semifreddo
300ml double cream
2 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
125g caster
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
Few drops almond extract
1 tbsp toasted milk powder (optional)
50g soft amaretti cookies
100g frozen cherries, chopped

For the Sandwiches
1x750g loaf panettone
200g white chocolate
2 tbsp coconut oil

Lightly grease a quarter sheet pan or a 9x13 brownie pan and line the base and sides and with parchment paper.

Add the cream to a large bowl and whisk, using a Wilfa Smooth Mix Hand Mixer, until soft peaks form. Set aside for the moment.

Add the eggs, yolks and sugar to a separate large bowl and place the bowl over a pan of simmering water. Using the Wilfa Hand Mixer, whisk on low speed for about 6-8 minutes. Don’t worry about cleaning the beaters before whisking the eggs, since the egg yolks have fat the cream on them doesn’t matter. You want to whisk the mixture until it reaches 75C. This ensures the eggs are cooked but also helps us make a nice light foam. Remove the bowl from the heat and whisk on high speed for another 6-8 minutes until you have a pale and fluffy mixture that’s holds a ribbon when lifted from the bowl. Pour half of this egg mixture into the cream and use a spatula to lightly fold together. Repeat with the remaining egg mixture. Scrape this semifreddo mixture into the prepared tray and spread into an even layer. Crumble over the amaretti and scatter over the chopped cherries. Press a sheet of clingfilm onto the surface of the semifreddo and freeze for 8-10 hours or until firm.

Slice the panettone into 1cm thick slices and use a 8cm round cookie cutter to cut out 16 discs. Remove the semifreddo from the freezer and unmould it from the tray. Use the same cookie cutter to cut out 8 discs of semifreddo and sandwich together with two discs of panettone. Place back into the freezer whilst you prepare the white chocolate.

Note: don’t waste the leftover semifreddo and trimmings from the panettone. You can use both together to make a frozen trifle, the panettone off-cuts would also make a great bread pudding.

For the white chocolate, break it into small pieces and using either a microwave or a Bain Marie melt it together with the coconut oil. Pour into a small bowl and set aside until room temperature, liquid and pourable but without any real heat. Remove the ice cream sandwiches from the freezer and dip halfway into the chocolate mixture, allowing any excess chocolate to drop back into the bowl. Set down onto a piece of parchment paper and repeat with all 8 sandwiches. Once all have been dipped transfer to the freezer until ready to serve.

Oatnog aka Vegan Eggnog

This post is sponsored by Wilfa

Are we in the festive spirit yet? I think I’m getting there. It definitely helps that everything I have been making the past couple weeks are decidedly festive. It also helps that I was in central London a few times this week and there is nothing like a wander through the city, taking in the lights and all the decorations, to get you in the spirit. Talking of the festive spirit I have a literal festive spirit recipe for you, a vegan take on eggnog, or Oatnog as it really should be called. Made with homemade oat and cashew milk and flavoured with cinnamon, nutmeg and of course lots of rum, it’s a truly delicious alternative to the classic dairy based drink. The drink, straight out of the bottle, is lighter than classic versions as it’s missing the richness the cream and eggs bring. I don’t mind this, as I enjoy the flavour but can normally only drink one small glass due to the richness, obviously not an issue with this version. If you miss the body of a slightly richer drink you can actually shake this with a little aquafaba. To make the oat/cashew milk I used my Wilfa Powerfuel XL blender which is incredibly powerful and broke down the nuts and oats in seconds. To ensure the milk doesn’t have a slimy texture you want to blend for shorter than you’d imagine, 20-30 seconds works well. This is shorter than other recipes might suggest but that’s simply because the Wilfa Powerfuel XL will break down the oats much quicker than other blenders. This is because the blender has a very powerful 2000 watt motor which makes the blades turn 32000 times a minute at full speed

When you’ve made the oatnog it will keep in the fridge for about 5 days but as it is homemade and doesn’t include any emulsifiers it will split as it sits, but don’t worry simply shake it before you serve it and you’ll have a delicious creamy oatnog once again.

To get 20% off the Wilfa Powerfuel XL or any other Wilfa products in my collection make sure you use the code THEBOYWHOBAKES.

Oatnog (aka Vegan Eggnog)
100g raw cashews
100g traditional rolled oats
75ml maple syrup
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
750ml water
150ml dark rum

To make the oatnog first soak the cashews in cold water for a couple hours.

Drain the cashews and add the nuts, oats, maple syrup, spices, vanilla, salt and water to the jug of the Wilfa Powerfuel XL blender. Pop the lid on the blender and process for about 20-30 seconds until smooth. Over blending the mixture at this point can make for slightly slimy oat milk so don’t overdo it. Pour the milk mixture into a nut milk bag (or use a very fine cheesecloth) and allow the milk to strain through, adding gentle pressure to extract as much milk as possible. Don’t squeeze the mixture too hard or more of the starch will be extracted into the milk. Discard the sediment left behind.

Stir in the rum and then decant into a bottle. Pop in the fridge and stir for up to 5 days. To serve pour into a glass filled with ice and top with a fresh dusting of grated nutmeg.

Molasses Spice Sandwich Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting

The following recipe is sponsored by Wilfa

Soft Gingerbread Sandwich Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes 15

These incredibly simple sandwich cookies are the epitome of wintery baking, full of warming spices like nutmeg and clove and made more intense with the addition of treacle. The dough is made with melted butter which makes the recipe quicker and easier to make but also means the cookies work wonderfully well with whatever style of mixer you have, an electric hand mixer would be ideal. If you’re in the market for a hand mixer, or maybe looking for a Christmas present idea for the baker in your life, the Wilfa Smooth Mix Hand Mixer is a great option. Firstly its incredibly sleek and stylish but more importantly its also incredibly efficient.

When I used to run macaron classes, I used to use hand mixers for the students, because I couldn’t afford and couldn’t store 10 big stand mixers. The hand mixers I used were about £40-50 each and they only ever seemed to last a few months worth of classes, obviously a total waste of money. The Wilfa hand mixer on the other hand is built to last and is a joy to use. The mixer has five speeds and a great slow start function meaning it doesn’t immediately power up to full speed, which means less flour or icing sugar flying all over your kitchen. This hand mixer has  a retail price of £70 but with my discount code THEBOYWHOBAKES it would only cost £56!

125g unsalted butter, melted
175g light brown sugar
75g black treacle
1 large egg
300g plain flour
1 tbsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp ground clove
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Cream Cheese Frosting
50g unsalted butter, room temperature
125g icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
50g full fat cream cheese, room temperature
Pinch of salt

To make the cookie dough add the butter, sugar and molasses to a large bowl and beat together with a Wilfa Smooth Mix - Hand Mixer, for a couple minutes until pale. Add the egg and beat together for a couple minutes until smooth and combined. Add the flour, spices, baking soda and salt and mix on low speed until a stiff dough is formed. Refrigerate the dough for at least four hours or until firm. At this point the dough can be refrigerated for up to 5 days before baking.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC (160ºC Fan) and line two baking trays with parchment paper.

Roll into tablespoon sized balls, I like to use a small tablespoon sized cookie scoop to portion the dough and then roll by hand to make neat round balls. Roll the balls in granulated sugar and then set onto the prepared baking trays.

Bake for 10 mins until the cookies are crinkly and flattened but still a little domed. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the sheet tray for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. When removed straight from the oven the cookies will be very soft so don’t try and more them until the 10 minutes are up. The cookies will flatten slightly more as they cool leaving you with a chewy edge and a soft centre. Kept in a sealed container they’ll keep for 2-3 days.

To make the cream cheese frosting add the butter to a bowl and using the Wilfa hand mixer beat until soft and creamy. Add in the icing sugar a little at a time and beat on low speed until the frosting is smooth. Once all of the sugar has been mixed in turn up the mixer and beat for about 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add in the vanilla, cream cheese and salt and mix briefly just until a smooth mixture has formed.

Spoon or pipe the cream cheese frosting onto the base of half the cookies and sandwich together with a second cookie. Once sandwiched together the cookies will keep for up to 3 days but will slowly soften as they sit.

Malaysian Inspired Carrot and Lentil Soup

This post is sponsored by Wilfa

Did you know you can make soup in a blender? I’m not talking about blending a soup that was cooked in a saucepan and then blended smooth, I’m talking fully cooked in a blender! How is that possible, you ask? The simple answer is friction. If you take a trip down memory lane, to your high school science class, you might remember that friction generates heat; it’s the same reason rubbing your hands together makes them feel warmer. If you have a high speed blender, I’m talking about the Wilfa Powerfuel XL Blender with a 2000 watt motor, the friction this produces is enough to cook soup. The blades of the Wilfa blender turn a whopping 32,000 times a minute and this friction is enough to make a batch of steaming hot soup in 10 minutes, the motor is also strong enough to run continuously for those 10 minutes without problems. You’re using the blender to make a silky smooth soup anyway, why not make it entirely in the blender.

This soup is inspired by the recipe for a Malaysian dhal by Meera Sodha, a recipe I love. It is based on a mix of carrots, lentils and coconut milk, flavoured with onion, curry leaves and selection of spices and a little hint of tamarind. It is incredibly silky smooth and creamy and the perfect warming dish on a cold winters day. To serve the soup I make a grilled cheese sandwich a little like a Bombay cheese toastie (although without the potato you’d normally include), made with a mint and coriander chutney, grated cheese, green pepper, tomato and red onion, a better lunch combo I haven’t heard of.

If you are in the market for a blender the Wilfa Powerfuel XL is an incredibly well built piece of kit, running at 32000 rpm it can tackle anything, the motor is also guaranteed for 10 years. If you use my code THEBOYWHOBAKES on the Wilfa website you also get a 20% discount.

Spiced Carrot and Lentil Soup
Serves 4-6

150g red lentils
2 tbsp olive oil
1 stalk lemongrass, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
10 curry leaves, fresh or frozen
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp chilli powder
1 x 400ml tin coconut milk
600ml vegetable stock
1 tbsp tamarind paste
2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped

A couple hours before you make the soup wash the red lentils in cold water then cover with fresh cold water and set aside to soak for 1-2 hours. To ensure a fully flavoured soup I like to cook off the aromatics to take away the raw taste. Add the olive oil to a small pan and over medium heat cook the lemongrass and garlic until just starting to turn a pale golden colour. Add the curry leaves and spices and cook for 20-30 seconds. Pour the spiced oil into a bowl.

To make the soup add the coconut milk, vegetable stock, tamarind paste to the blender jug. Drain the lentils and add to the jug followed by the carrots, onion and spice oil. Season with a little salt and pepper. Choose the soup setting on the Wilfa Powerfuel XL blender and press start. The blender will process the soup at high speed for 10 minutes and when the programme is finished you’ll be left with a steaming hot soup. You can adjust the thickness of the soup by adding a little extra stock if the finished soup is thicker than you prefer.

Serve drizzled with a little chilli oil and, if you’re like me, accompanied with a Bombay style cheese toastie.