3 medium-sized eggs, at room temperature
2 egg yolks (from medium-sized eggs), at room temperature
9 oz dark chocolate 70%+ cocoa solids, chopped
2 cups cashew milk
1 tsp of corn starch
1/2 cup of toasted ground hazelnuts
2.25 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
I used a silicon ice cube mold that produces 18 x 1.25" square cubes.
Line with a double layer of baking parchment, leaving extra length to cover the top also. (The double layer provides a little extra strength when you need to get it out of the container)
Toast your hazelnuts at 400F for 6-10 mins
Remove from the heat and grind in a food processor
Strain the cashew milk through muslin / cheese cloth
Mix the coco with the corn starch
Slowly add 1/4 cup of the cashew milk - stirring until smooth
Heat the rest of the cashew milk gently, do not boil
Then add the cocoa powder / corn starch mixture
Stir the chocolate mixture until thickened (like a heavy custard)
Mix in the toasted ground hazelnuts in with the custard
Refrigerate the custard until needed.
Chop the chocolate
Place the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl
Place over a pan of barely simmering water (bain-marie) and melt, stirring often with a spatula.
NOTE: The bottom of the bowl must not come in contact with the simmering water otherwise the chocolate will burn.
Once the chocolate is smooth and melted, remove bowl from the top of the pan and set aside to cool briefly.Making your Zabaglione
Place the sugar, the eggs and the egg yolks in another large heatproof bowl and set it over the same pan of barely simmering water (bain-marie).
Using a hand-held mixer, beat the sugar with the eggs on medium speed for 6-12 minutes or until the mixture has doubled in volume, is pale in color and has the texture of lightly whipped cream.
NOTE: You need to be careful not to let the water bubble underneath the bowl because your eggs might scramble. You need to keep the water at a bare simmer.
Remove the bowl from the heat and transfer the zabaglione to a clean glass bowl.
Continue beating for another 6-7 mins, until cool.
At this point it is a pourable airy, meringue.
Fold the melted chocolate gently through the mixture with a metal spoon until well-combined, being careful not to deflate it too much
Fold the chocolate custard gently through the zabaglione-chocolate mixture with a metal spoon until combined. Pour the semi freddo mixture into your lined loaf pan, over the crushed cookies. Cover with plastic wrap or a lid and place it in your freezer for at least 6 hours but preferably overnight.
Remove from the freezer 10 minutes before you want to serve
To remove the semi freddo from the loaf pan, hold the baking paper and plastic wrap and lift straight up. If there are any sides of the pan that were not covered with baking paper or plastic wrap, run a knife through and the semi freddo will be released quite easily.
Serve the semi freddo in cubes or cut into slices (if you used a loaf pan) or scooped into bowls.
Serve with a toasted hazelnut on top and / or with fresh berries or wine poached pears as i did, or any other accompaniment you desire.
Remove the ground hazelnuts and replace with another flavor such as:Amaretti liqueur and cookies (you can put them in the bottom of the container.Pistachio and home made nougatFresh raspberries and raspberry coulis