Okay, the smashed strawberry syrup might seem like overkill, but when strawberries are this good, it seems a waste not to have a strawberry double-whammy. You’ll need to begin this recipe a day ahead.
Ingredients
Smashed strawberry syrup
Method
Main
1.Combine strawberries, brandy or liqueur, glucose, lemon juice and 90gm sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir to dissolve, simmer until reduced by half (8-10 minutes), then refrigerate until cool (1 hour), set aside.
2.Whisk yolks, vanilla seeds and remaining sugar in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water until thick and pale (4-5 minutes), then transfer to an electric mixer, whisk until cool (2-3 minutes) andset aside.
3.Whisk cream and crème fraîche together in a bowl until soft peaks form, then fold in cooled yolk mixture. Spoon into a 2 litre- capacity container, adding cooled strawberry mixture as you go, swirling to form a ripple effect. Freeze until firm (6 hours-overnight), then cover with plastic wrap and freeze until required. Makes about 2 litres.
4.For smashed strawberry syrup, coarsely crush strawberries, liqueur or brandy and lemon juice together in a bowl with a fork, set aside. Combine sugar, lemon rind and 250ml water in a small saucepan and stir over medium until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil, simmer until mixture is syrupy and rind is translucent (15-20 minutes), then add to strawberry mixture and refrigerate until chilled (30-40 minutes). Serve scoops of strawberries and cream semifreddo drizzled with smashed strawberry syrup.
