When I was thinking of Valentine’s Day desserts, I realized that I somehow have not made a raspberry dessert in over two years. Which means that it was long overdue. So right away, I knew I was going to use raspberries, I wanted this white and red aesthetic, and I wanted it to be a plated dessert. So with those three criteria in mind, I had a decent amount of options to go with. A plated cake dessert felt too obvious, while doing a raspberry mousse-type petit gateau, while cute, might read more as a modern bakery item and less like a plated dessert. I wanted this to be something you have to sit down and eat, not something you can place in a box and travel with. Namely because I had another Valentine’s dessert already in mind for that kind of concept. This had to be a restaurant dessert. So I thought to frozen components, which are optimally enjoyed as soon as they are served, and landed on semifreddo. Semifreddo is an Italian dessert, literally meaning “half frozen”, and it is like if a mousse and ice cream had a baby. Originally, I was going to use quenelle molds and make this plated dessert more fine dining and less thematic, but I remembered these pretty silicone half heart molds that my dear friend Shari gifted me, and it just felt right to use those instead. In terms of the flavor combination, since I was featuring raspberries, I wanted to use creme fraiche, a tangy dairy product which is like the French cousin to sour cream, only denser and richer, as the body for my semifreddo. I wound up with a dessert with a very heavy Snow White aesthetic, between red and white color contrast, the white semifreddo heart, and the fact I used white chocolate to make a white chocolate “snow”, so I dubbed the dessert “A Heart as Pure as Snow” to really embody all of that perfectly!

For the components, we have a creme fraiche semifreddo, a vanilla crumb, raspberry yuzu coulis(strained sauce) and gelee, white chocolate “snow”, and fresh raspberries to garnish with. I would recommend focusing on the semifreddo first, since it’ll need to be heated up, then frozen solid, and that would be at least a 2 1/2 hour process(2 hours of which will be getting that semifreddo frozen enough to unmold). For the vanilla crumb, it is basically like an easier to make shortbread dough, since you don’t even need to chill the dough down prior to baking it! For the raspberry coulis, just be sure to watch it and stir as needed while it is cooking so that you don’t run the risk of the coulis burning to the bottom of your cookware. The coulis is essential as it is not only the sauce for the dessert, but also used to glaze the fresh raspberries and as the base for the gelee. To make the gelee, some of the coulis is heated up with agar then set in molds and cut into small pieces. Unlike with the semifreddo, the gelee will actually set a lot faster, due to less sugar and fat in general, as well as with agar being a very fast setting agent. The white chocolate “snow” is as much one of my favorite plating components to make as it is annoying to type the quotation marks around the word “snow” each time I reference that garnish. It is made by melting white chocolate with salt then blending it with tapioca maltodextrin into a fine powder. I like using it in lieu of powdered sugar because maltodextrin-based powders do not melt as quickly(ironic since it is meant to resemble snow). All in all, I wouldn’t call this a super difficult dessert to make, since it came together quite quickly, but it is a fun one to enjoy, since there are so many fun textures to bite through and a lot of nice, contrasting flavors across all of the components!

Makes 3 servings:
For the creme fraiche semifreddo:
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup granulated sugar
a pinch of salt
1/4 cup milk
4oz creme fraiche
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup heavy cream, whipped stiff

In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolk with sugar, and salt. Place the milk into a pot and place on low heat. Once the milk begins to simmer, pour half of the milk over the egg yolks. Then whisk together and pour the egg yolk mixture back into the pot. Whisk everything in the pot on medium-low heat for 2-3 minutes, until the sugar and gelatin fully dissolve into the liquid. Pour everything through a sieve. Allow the egg mixture to cool down to room temperature. Then fold into the mixture your creme fraiche, vanilla, and heavy cream to form your semifreddo base. Pour the semifreddo base into silicone heart molds and freeze for at least 2 hours before attempting to unmold. Keep the semifreddo in the freezer prior to plating.

For the vanilla crumb:
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp granulated sugar
a pinch of salt
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a bowl, mix everything until until combined into a loose, crumbly dough. Bake the dough at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes. Allow the crumb to cool down before attempting to use.

For the raspberry-yuzu coulis:
2oz fresh raspberries
2 tbsp yuzu juice
1 tbsp granulated sugar
a pinch of salt
1/4 cup water

In a pot, heat everything together on low heat until the berries are completely soft. Pass everything through a sieve to remove any seeds or lumps.

For the raspberry-yuzu gelee:
2oz raspberry-yuzu coulis
1 tsp agar agar

In a pot, heat up your ingredients until the agar fully dissolves into the coulis – there should be no lumps or granular bits in the liquid. Pour the liquid into silicone 1/4-inch half sphere molds and freeze for 20 minutes. Cut each half sphere into quarters and keep refrigerated until time to use.

For the white chocolate “snow”:
1oz white chocolate, melted
1oz tapioca maltodextrin
a pinch of salt

In a bowl, mix everything together until combined into a fine powder. Store in an airtight container until time to plate.

To plate:
Fresh raspberries

Start by placing down the vanilla crumb, then arrange dots of the coulis around the crumb. Slice the raspberries in half and brush the cut sides with the coulis before placing on the edges of the crumb, along with the gelee pieces. Press two semifreddo halves(flat sides together) to form a full heart, and place the semifreddo in the center of each plate. Sprinkle the white chocolate “snow” on the plate to finish.