An easy, elegant dessert that celebrates coffee
As coffee continues to grow in popularity in the United States, there are problems sustaining its supply. According to recent studies, youths as young as 14 and almost 50% of the population between the ages of 18 to 24 now drink coffee.
Most coffee is grown in full sun to yield a larger crop, but this uses more water and fertilizer, and clearing the land takes away habitat from birds, animals and insects.
There is a push to go back to growing the plants in shade — the flavor is reported to be better, but the yield is smaller, making the change to shaded coffee production less appealing to the growers. In fact, many of the countries that rely heavily on coffee exports are the poorest and climate change is already diminishing their crops.
It seems inevitable that we will see the cost of coffee increase. Hopefully, more of our money will go to the farmers and workers who grow and pick it. In the meantime, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to support fair trade and organic coffee farmers whenever possible.
The following recipe is from the cookbook “Claudia Roden’s Mediterranean” by Claudia Roden. It is a creamy coffee and hazelnut semifreddo. I used a small loaf pan (8-inch by 3-inch), but you could use a glass bowl or another mold of a similar size. This dessert is a cinch to make, but plan ahead because it needs to set in the freezer overnight.
Coffee and Hazelnut Semifreddo
Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients
1/4 cup hazelnuts
1/4 cup sugar
1 3/4 cups whipping cream
1 1/2 cups sweetened evaporated milk 1K tablespoons instant espresso coffee
Directions
Toast the hazelnuts in a 350- degree oven for four to five minutes. Watch carefully, they will burn easily. Pour the warm nuts into a clean dish cloth and rub together to remove any loose skin. Set aside to cool.
Place some parchment paper on a cookie sheet. If you don’t have parchment paper, you can lightly oil the pan.
Put the sugar into a heavy gauge sauté pan over medium- high heat. Do not stir. When the sugar starts to melt and color, lower the heat and keep the pan low and over the heat, swirling it until all the sugar liquifies. If it starts to turn dark, quickly lower the heat again. Add the nuts carefully, rolling them into the caramel. Be careful not to touch the caramel or nuts with bare fingers, they’re both very hot. Quickly pour the mixture onto the prepared cookie sheet and let cool till hard.
Once it’s completely cool, break up the caramel into a food processor and pulse into smaller pieces. The caramel nut mixture with be both in and on top of the loaf so you don’t want huge pieces, but they shouldn’t be uniform either.
Line the loaf pan with plastic wrap, making sure it is long enough to reach all the corners of the pan as well as hang over the sides. The extra plastic will help you to lift the frozen semifreddo out more easily. Now, whip the cream, condensed milk and instant coffee in a medium bowl or standing mixer for five minutes until soft peaks form. Fold in all but two to three tablespoons of the chopped caramel. Spoon the creamy mixture into the pan, cover with another layer of plastic wrap and place in the freezer overnight.
When you are ready to serve the dessert, hold both sides of the plastic and gently lift it out of the pan. Place it upside down onto a serving platter and sprinkle the reserved brittle onto the top. Serve immediately.
Variations: Chocolate is a natural here but use it sparingly because it will overpower the coffee flavor. I would use it one to four. Also, you can change the nuts — almond, peanut or pistachio all work well.