Easy Lemon & Lavender Semifreddo
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This post is brought to you in collaboration with the lovely people at BC Egg.
All opinions are my own.
Easter is right around the corner and I've got sunny delicious desserts on my mind. I've also got a new baby, kids in school, and a million things on the go, so realism is on my mind. So when I started to develop a semifreddo cake for BC Egg, I quickly realized that I also wanted to see if I could come up with a recipe that would give you a similar sort of dessert in just a fraction of the time. Enter the blender.
I'm really starting to develop a bit of an obsession with figuring out how to make desserts with my Vitamix blender, and that's largely thanks to eggs. I absolutely adore lemon curd, but it was never something I made all that often in the past. Traditional methods all involve using a double boiler (along with lots of stirring) in order to get the eggs to cook without scrambling, and while that's not too tricky to do, it's still not something you can just throw together in a few minutes. But high speed blenders are capable of performing egg magic. You can literally dump all of the ingredients for a lemon curd into the blender, turn it up to high, and wait 5 minutes - and voila, dessert. And it's not like some poor substitute for the 'real thing' either - it's perfect. I used it to make this blueberry lemon curd, which is as visually striking as it is tasty. The reason that high speed blenders can do this centers on two facets of their operation: 1) the blades are strong and fast enough to thoroughly combine ingredients while whipping a lot of air into them, and 2) the mixture becomes hot enough to cook the eggs and denature the proteins, thus setting the dessert. But curds aren't the only aerated egg dessert out there - sabayons (or zabagliones), custards, some ice creams, and semifreddos also rely on the emulsifying and setting properties of eggs to create a creamy, airy texture. And while I'd probably be perfectly happy just making variation after variation of curd, it doesn't exactly make for riveting blogging. I wanted to investigate something new, and I love a bit of experimenting in the kitchen, so I decided to see what other egg-based desserts I could work up in the blender. Semifreddo - an frozen Italian dessert combining whipped sweetened eggs and cream - turned out to be a perfect candidate. I wasn't sure if this would work out at first; unlike curd, the semifreddo egg base doesn't use butter, and the cream has to be whipped and folded in separately. Fortunately I didn't have to worry about anything - the blender yields an airy and very intense custard-like base that folds very smoothly into the whipped cream. After having carefully planned and crafted all of the steps for this recipe's semifreddo cake sibling post, this dessert was almost hilariously hands off.
Now if you don't HAVE a high-speed blender, you might think that this recipe isn't for you, but rest assured that it's still quite simply made with a double-boiler. In fact, if you have a stand mixer, you don't even have to separate any eggs. If you're rocking a hand mixer only, you can still make this recipe, but you'll need to budget a bit more time. Check out the recipe notes below for more details.
If, however, bright and springy desserts have got you in the mood for a bit of light Easter reading, I hope you'll follow me on a little diversion. I want to talk about the Easter Bunny.
Funny Bunnies
Have you ever wondered why a full moon looks so big when it's on the horizon? The answer is fascinating: your brain is lying to you. Or, more accurately, it's contextualizing the familiar site of the moon in a different way (i.e. against the more proximal and measurable aspects of our landscape). The moon simply looks bigger because we have something to compare it to. This seems bizarre to us - maybe even illogical. And yet there's no sensible alternative explanation. We know that the moon is, of course, not actually bigger from one minute to the next.
Context and perception can interact in some pretty fascinating ways. What we perceive to be different, strange, dangerous, delightful, or disgusting often has more to do with the way in which we contextualize things, rather than the properties of those things themselves. We like to think that we're open-minded and generally perceptive, but our brains are great at ignoring things when they strike as familiar or unimportant. If you don't believe me, check out the selective attention test. There's a whole world of psychological and neurological research related to this, but I'm going to forgo talking about how the brain works for now, and instead look at a great example of something that's been normalized by context, despite the fact that it's objectively complicated and subjectively more than a little bit bizarre: the Easter Bunny.
The Easter Bunny is weird. If this was a Wikipedia page there'd be a little superscript there with [citation needed], but it's my blog and I'll editorialize if I want to. The Easter holiday/celebration is an unusual amalgamation of cultural practices, religious celebrations, and modern commercialization, and the Easter Bunny is a delightfully quirky manifestation of that cultural hodgepodge. We like to poke fun at this from time to time, laughing about the idea of a magical bunny that hides chocolate to commemorate the death and rebirth of Christ, but things are actually even odder than they seem at first blush. The Easter Bunny is so complex and interwoven with different cultures across time that we don't fully understand where it came from or why we've embraced it.
The topic of Easter culture is so complex that I'm at risk of falling down a bit of rabbit hole. (Hey-o!) Because of this, I'm not even going to touch on the equally complex topics of Easter eggs, or of Easter itself. There's something called the Easter controversy, for example. It sounds like it might have something in common with coffee-cup-centered "War on Christmas" style outrage, but it's actually a calendar-centered debate that's been a thing since the 2nd century. Pope Victor I attempted to excommunicate a group of early Christians based on arguments over the date of Easter and the connection to the timing of Passover. Touchy stuff, apparently. Anyway, let's take a pass over (Hey-ooooo!) this list of some of the quirkier aspects of the origins and celebrations of our favourite lagomorph confectioner (or confectionery, I suppose).
Why a Rabbit?
First of all, and because I'm a biologist, I need to get something straight right out of the gate: technically we started out with an Easter hare, which morphed into an Easter rabbit or bunny. This actually matters because hares and rabbits are very different, albeit closely related animals. We could split hares (HEY-O!) further and talk about the fact that there are numerous species of rabbit and hare, but let's just agree that we're talking about long-eared, fuzzy, hoppy fellas. Now, there are a lot of possible reasons that rabbits have become the de facto Easter creature in most of the English (and German) speaking world (Australia being a notable exception - they have an Easter bilby, which is delightful), but we don't really know for sure. Fortunately, the possibilities are pretty entertaining.
Here's what we know for sure - the idea of an Easter hare first shows up in Southern Germany in the 16th or 17th century. Francis Weiser's 'Easter Book' references a German source from in 1572 that says (roughly) "Do not worry if the Easter Bunny escapes you; should we miss his eggs, we will cook the nest." That date has been widely recirculated by other writers, though I am somewhat uncertain that it truly refers to Easter, as the original German text says "Haas am Spieß" which literally means 'hare on a spit' rather than Easter bunny. Gugitz (1949), whom Weiser is directly referencing, posits that the original 1572 text is alluding to the Easter bunny, though I'm not sure if/how that's clear. I'm still trying to determine if there's a lost-in-translation issue going on here, but for now I'm dubious about this earliest of Easter bunnies.* The 1682 book, by Georg Franck von Franckenau, definitely mentions the Osterhase (Easter hare), though the concept itself seems not to have gained much traction beyond a small region of Germany. For whatever reason, the idea became more widespread during the 18th century, and was subsequently carried to the Americas (and elsewhere) by German immigrants. But this still doesn't address why it is that a hare (or rabbit) in particular came to both symbolize Easter and, even more strangely, lay and/or deliver eggs. We may never know for sure, but there are some very interesting possibilities found in the traditions and folk beliefs of Christian and Pagan peoples of Europe.
The 8th century Christian theologian and historian Bede wrote of an Old English goddess named Ēostre, for whom a month in the spring (now April) was named, and whose name was now used to refer to Paschal (i.e. Easter) celebrations. Despite periods of skepticism, the etymological connection between Ēostre and Easter is fairly commonly accepted today. The problem comes when we bring rabbits into the mix. Working in the 1874, Adolf Holtzmann specifically addressed the Easter hare in his book Deutsche Mythologie. He found the notion of the Easter hare "inexplicable," though he speculated that the hare may have been a companion animal to the goddess Ostara. Ostara, for what it's worth, is the name that Jacob Grimm (of Grimm's fairy tales) gave to a speculative pan-Germanic deity that he posits may have existed (thereby explaining Bede's account of Ēostre). Unfortunately, these layers of speculation have been misquoted and misrepresented as fact over the years. Stories of Ostara turning a bird into an egg-laying hare start to show up in print in the late 19th century, but it's unclear how old the stories are, or if they're even particularly well translated from oral tradition. This link goes into lovely detail on the subject, if you're curious - but it's fair to presume that the 'Ostara bunny' is not terribly ancient.
Another possible reason that the hare has become connected to Easter comes to us from Christian tradition combined with a bit of inaccurate zoology. Rabbits and hares have been connected to the Virgin Mary because of the belief that they symbolize both virginity and fecundity. Seems like a bit of a head-scratcher, doesn't it? The fecundity of rabbits is of course famous - 'breeding like rabbits' is a well-known expression after all. Rabbits can produce young incredibly quickly, and are even capable of a something called superfetation, in which they can become pregnant with a second clutch of young while already pregnant. That's a lot of rabbits. You'd be fair for wondering how the heck virginity enters into all of this. Well, it seems that many European traditions held that the rabbits and hares were hermaphrodites, and were able to become pregnant without mating. The notion of rabbits being capable of virgin birth made for an easy connection to Mary. For what it's worth, virgin birth isn't a thing in mammals (at least biologically speaking - I'm not here to weigh in on the miraculous aspect), but it is a thing in some lizards. If medieval scientists had known, perhaps we'd have an Easter lizard. At least they actually DO lay eggs.
But Why Does It Bring Eggs?
Eggs themselves have been connected to both Pagan and Christian traditions. They symbolize rebirth, renewal, and fertility, and have likely symbolized these concepts for countless millennia. But we're not asking 'why Easter eggs?' (because that's a whole other subject) - we're asking 'why the heck does a rabbit bring them?'
As mentioned above, there have been suppositions that the egg-laying hare is somehow connected to a story or Ostara turning a bird into a hare (though there is virtually nothing in the way of historical evidence to connect this relatively young story to Ēostre (the deity) or Easter (the holiday). The story goes that hare may have then been able to lay eggs because Ostara took pity on it and gave it the ability, or because it was like 'pfft, you can't tell me what to do, I'm still a bird.' Either way, the story (if it's been translated accurately) might explain some of the German Easter hare and it's traditions, though (as mentioned above) it's likely not old enough to lay the subject to rest. Another possible explanation, and one that I must say I quite enjoy, is once again connected to some bad biology. Hares, unlike rabbits, don't have their young in burrows. Instead, they form a depression or area of flattened grass called a form where they birth and care for their young. But a beautiful bird called the Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) also happens to nest in a similar grassy habitat, making a similar sort of nest, and at the same time of the year. It's thought that this gave rise to a common European tradition that hares laid eggs. If that sounds silly, remember that it was also commonly believed throughout Medieval Europe that salamanders were born from fire, and that they consumed fire in order to sustain themselves. So maybe an egg-laying bunny isn't such a stretch.
*NOTE: This article was updated in March, 2020 to reflect some new information regarding the dates given in Weiser's book, and to clarify some of my comments about Ostara and the modernity of the myth.
The texts mentioned above about the origins of the Easter bunny are:
- Weiser, Francis X (1952) The Easter Book, Harcourt Brace, New York
- Gugitz, Gustav (1949) Das Jahr und seine Feste im Volksbrauch Österreichs. Austria. Vol. 1, p. 118
- Fischart, Johann (1572) Aller Praktik Grossmutter
- Franck Von Franckenau, Georg (1682) Disputatione ordinaria disquirens de ovis paschalibus / von Oster-Eyern. Satyrae Medicae. XVIII. Heidelberg. p. 6
Recipe Notes
Given that this recipe started as a simplified version of another (also delicious) recipe, it should come as no surprise that the whole thing is meant to be pretty straightforward and easy to do. If you have a high-speed blender (e.g. a Vitamix) you'll find the whole thing very self-explanatory. But if you're looking to tackle this recipe without one, I'll give you a few helpful tips.
Because the blender both mixes and cooks the eggs, you'll need to replace it with a standard double-boiler method. You still want to whip the cream first and set it aside. After this, you'll need to set up a double boiler or bain marie (I use a large metal bowl over a large pot filled 2/3rds of the way up with water and placed over low/medium heat on the stove). Combine all of the semifreddo ingredients in the double boiler, stirring more or less constantly to avoid scrambling the eggs, until the mixture reaches 165°F (74°C). This should take about 5-7 minutes over hot-but-not-boiling water. Allow the semifreddo mixture to cool a bit, then whip at high speed until roughly quadrupled in volume and well-aerated. Gently mix in the whipped cream, and finish as for the standard recipe above.
I used a stand mixer of all of my whipping, but if you're using a hand mixer you might find that you get better results from the semifreddo by separating the yolks and whites, whipping the whites separately, and using the yolks in the double-boiler portion of the recipe. Combine everything at the end carefully to avoid deflating the mixture.
Variations
You can swap out the sugar for honey in the semifreddo to create a very different, somewhat bolder and more floral dessert. I used a strong honey to make this lemon and lavender semifreddo cake, and the difference in character between the two recipes is quite dramatic.
The basic idea of the semifreddo itself is quite simple and open to interpretation. Feel free to experiment with fruits, chocolate, etc. Likewise, you can keep the semifreddo fairly simple (vanilla, lemon, etc.) and use more flavourful toppings like stewed fruit, candied nuts, or caramel. Have fun.
One final note - lady fingers aren't necessary to make a semifreddo, but I included them here because I like the cake-like effect, flavour, and utility that they bring to the recipe. By placing them on the surface of the semifreddo (i.e. the part that will become the bottom), they act as a nice dry barrier between the semifreddo and the plate. This makes the whole thing melt slower when served. The room-temperature semifreddo isn't terribly wet, so the lady fingers don't soak up much moisture and stay fairly dry as a result. I like this, but if you want them to turn out a little softer and more cake-like, you can soak them in a little bit of cream before pressing them into the semifreddo, or let the whole thing sit in the fridge a bit longer before popping it into the freezer. You can also omit the lady fingers entirely in order to make the recipe gluten-free, or replace them with another type of cookie/biscuit layer.
Note: Nutritional Information is given for a single serving (1/10th portion of the total recipe).
Nutritional Summary
Surprisingly low in sugar and for something that bears so much resemblance to ice cream.
It's dessert, so of course it's extra calories no matter what. Speaking from experience, the biggest challenge is trying to keep yourself from eating too much of the thing, as it feels quite light.
Ingredient Pages
No ingredient pages have been written yet for any of the ingredients in this recipe. Like to see one? Let me know in the comments below or by email.
Pantry Pages
No pantry pages have been written yet for any of the ingredients in this recipe. Like to see one? Let me know in the comments below or by email.
Note: the semifreddo itself is gluten-free, though the lady finger addition is not. That being said, gluten-free lady fingers are fairly easy to find, or you can simply omit the cookie layer altogether.
Easy Blender Lemon-Lavender Semifreddo
Ingredients
- 1 cup cream
- 2 tbsp lemon zest (approx 2 lemons)
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 tsp lavender
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 8 lady finger cookies (depending on the size of your pan)
Instructions
- Whip the cream to firm peaks in blender or with a mixer and set aside or refrigerate. This step can be done up to the day before.
- Combine remaining ingredients in blender, run on high for 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool for about 5 minutes.
- Line a loaf pan with plastic wrap. You can use an unlined pan if you like, but you'll need to warm it gently when removing the semifreddo at the end.
- Fold whipped cream and egg mixture together, mixing gently until just combined. Don't over-mix the semifreddo or it will deflate.
- Slowly pour the semifreddo into the pan, tapping gently as you go to work out any pockets of air and to level the mixture. Gently press the lady fingers into the top of the semifreddo, forming a nice tight base (this will be the bottom layer when you turn the frozen mixture out onto a plate). Refrigerate for 1 hour, then freeze for at least 6 hours, or overnight.
- To serve: remove the pan from the freezer and turn the semifreddo out onto a serving plate. Remove the plastic/foil wrap and let the dessert stand for 3-4 minutes to soften slightly. Cut with a long, thin knife that's been dipped in warm water. Serve with a drizzle of honey, candied lemon peel, nuts, or just as-is.
Notes
Nutrition
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Comments
I wish I’d found this recipe last year– I somehow managed to buy WAYYYYY too many ladyfinger cookies, and one can only eat so much tiramisu. Ya know? I love this idea and I do have a Vitamix! This is so perfect for spring! (I’m a little surprised you didn’t talk about Easter and Ishtar, but that might’ve needed it’s own blog. Lol)
I think tiramisu has an unfair monopoly on lady fingers. I mean, I love the stuff, but there’s so much more that you can do with the, and they really work nicely when you want to create a cake-like base without baking. And as for the Easter/Ishtar thing, it’s an interesting subject to address, but it’s also one that’s mostly made up. Despite popular posts on the subject, there’s no evidence of an Ishtar/Easter connection. Of course, the fact that it’s NOT true is just as interesting to talk about in may respects, but you’re right – I’d need a whole other post (or a whole other blog) just to talk about the many complicated facets of Easter mythology. An Ishtar bunny would be pretty funny though – presumably a little NSFW.
Love all the EASTER info here. I will say that “Peter C”….still comes to our house (and still leaves stuff for the KIDS of all ages). I have heard that the Easter Bunny and Santa do some talking during the year. Hmmm???
Now on to this dessert. As I read the post and you mentioned blueberry curd…well that got my attention. This dessert looks amazing. I would have a hard time NOT eating it while I assembled it. It reminds me of sabayon. That you can eat a lot of without knowing as well. This is the perfect dessert for entertaining. Most people will NEVER have eaten it before. Looks like you spent hours in the kitchen making this gourmet treat. Happy Easter…hope the bunny leaves you some treats.
Thanks Gloria! I could, of course, just jump right into the recipe, but I like to dip my toes into the waters of food culture whenever I can. I think it’s fascinating stuff, and it’s nice to know that there are those who agree with me. And hey, there’s always that jump-to-recipe button for those that don’t. Haha. The blueberry curd recipe is amazing (if I do say so myself) and so easy if you have a Vitamix. I could easily see combining a curd like that with a semifreddo like this for those looking to double-down on the decadent dessert deliciousness. Excellent observation about sabayon – I was actually originally thinking about doing a sabayon recipe when I stumbled upon the idea of a semifreddo (or semifreddo cake). It’s always nice to have a recipe that can stop the show while only taking you a few minutes in the kitchen! Cheers, and happy Easter to you!
I love how quickly this semifreddo comes together – and most of the work is done by the blender! Perfect dessert option for Easter or any special occasion this spring. I can’t wait to harvest my lavender this year to use in delicious dishes like this.
Thanks Jenni! Between the stand mixer and the blender, this dessert is ridiculously hands-off. But even without the stand mixer it’s still a breeze. Glad you like it. And I hope you enjoy it with your own lavender! I’ve been thinking about harvesting some that grows around my house, but haven’t done it yet. Perhaps I should this year!
Where was this recipe when I had a jar of lavender that I had no idea what to do with? Haha. (It ended up expiring before I came up with anything.) This looks and sounds oh-so-delicious. I’m crazy about lemony desserts. And ladyfingers! What a nostalgic cookie. I’m all over this idea. I mean sure, Easter is over by now, but I don’t care 😉
Hah, I think lavender has that effect on people. It’s so distinctive that it can be hard to work with, and it can be tough to come up with recipes that make you feel like you’re not overdosing on the flavour. I’m glad you like this one – and I don’t think anyone needs to feel limited by the holiday in order to make this one either. Easter or not, it’s fun, light and delicious. And the basics of the cake can be adapted to all kinds of variations too.
This recipe sounds amazing! My absolute favorite dessert is cold and creamy and not too sweet. This certainly fits the bill. The combination of lemon and lavender is really intriguing. I’m definitely going to try out the recipe. And I really enjoy your explanations. You should have talk to my papà about this. As an Italian he could not understand the rabbit and eggs. In Italy the cards show chicks with the eggs. No Easter bunny for them.
Thank you Marisa! I love desserts, but I generally find that there’s just too much focus on sugar in them. That might sound counter-intuitive to many, but I think you know just what I mean. It can’t just be about sweetness. And hey – you can tell your papà that I think the bunnies are weird too. Fun, but weird. Chicks and eggs certainly make a bit more sense, don’t they? But at least now you can tell him at least a little about where they might have come from. Cheers.
I had never heard of this cake before….and I’m glad that I stumbled upon your easier/quicker version because otherwise I may not have tried it. This was so delish. Thank you for the introduction, all the tips and the inspiration.
Thanks Debra! Glad all the tips are helpful. It’s a really easy recipe, but I want people to be able to deliver a great final result no matter what gear they’re dealing with. Cheers, and thanks for commenting!
Semifreddo is one of my favorite desserts, but I rarely make it because it’s so much work. You have just opened a whole new world for me with this blender version! I would love to make your lemon lavender one because the flavors are perfect for spring, but I also see a rhubarb and rose one in my future. One question though: what type of lavender did you use? I have tried using locally-grown lavender before and it was too pungent, so it ended up making the simple syrup I was making taste like cleaning supplies 🙁
Having made the harder version only the day before, I can definitely agree with you. Semifreddo, like curd, isn’t difficult to make the old-school way, but it is time-consuming, and it requires a lot of attention. I was so pleased to get this working so well with the blender, and it’ll definitely be seeing repeated use (and variations) in my kitchen. Hopefully you’ll get a lot of use out of it too. Rhubarb and rose? Absolutely. Awesome.
As for my lavender, I can’t say exactly what type it is – I bought it from a local farmer a while back, and I’ve been hanging on to a bag for a long time. Probably too long really – it’s lost some of its original strength, but honestly that’s kind of nice for lavender. I find the smell test for lavender is an important one – take a big whiff of a handful and see just how strong it is. If it’s overwhelming, cut back the amount you use in the recipe. ALWAYS start with less and work your way up a little bit from there. In this recipe you can taste the lemon/lavender/egg mix as it comes out of the blender and see if it’s right for you or not. It’ll be a bit more intense at that stage because of the lack of whipped cream, but you’ll still get a good sense for it. You can always add more at that point if needed. You’ll find that lemon helps to mellow the lavender a bit too, as it keeps it from being too strong in isolation. Lavender is great, but as the sole flavour it can easily become too much. Hope that all helps!
Oh my gosh I want a Vitamix so badly but still haven’t gotten one. Thank you for including the instructions for using a double boiler, too! Although I think I just need to start collecting delicious recipes like this as incentives for my husband to finally get me one! 😉
Always! I love a good gadget, but try to be inclusive so that anyone can tackle my recipes. If you ever do get a Vitamix I’m sure you’ll love it – and I hope you’ll love how easy this is! And hey, I think a few well-placed emails or printouts for your husband with blender-friendly food pics might just do you some favours. Haha.
Lemon and lavendar are one of my favorite summer combos. I like your comment about how it seems light. That really can be an unexpected trap! I made a lemon tart once and my stepmother thought it was so light, she wanted to eat slice after slice. Meanwhile I knew how much cream, sugar and egg yolks had gone into the dessert! LOL. But the more she ate, the less I could eat!
I loved reading through the history of hare versus bunny. This looks like the perfect meal to follow-up a heavy meal, and with a blender you’ve really simplified the process. It looks so fancy on the plate but so easy to make. A sure a way to impress guests at a dinner!
I’ve done lemon curd in my Vitamix (you’re right–it isn’t just a passable fakeout, it comes utterly delicious), but I don’t make nearly enough other desserts with my blender. I know that I’m missing out there! Blender semifreddo is brilliant–I’ve made it the traditional, double boiler way for years, and would love to try a simplified recipe that surely looks and sounds like it comes out just as good! On another note – I recently saw a whipping and emulsifying-specific container/blade (Aer-disc, I believe it’s called) advertised for the Vitamix. I love how recipes like curd come with the standard blade, but am thoroughly curious about this new container! 🙂