Tehina Semifreddo

Serves 8

Because tehina is essentially the oil from sesame seeds, it keeps frozen desserts firm without ever getting icy, even if your freezer has a mind of its own. This softly frozen dessert is the next best thing to ice cream and is absolutely therapeutic to make. You don’t need an ice cream machine, and it will keep in your freezer for at least 3 days, so semifreddo is a great recipe for entertaining. The idea behind any mousse, frozen or unfrozen, is to fold the ingredients together so that the mixture is homogenous but doesn’t deflate from being overworked. This requires a bit of a delicate touch, so sip a little chamomile tea and practice some deep breathing before you start. You want the texture of each ingredient to be as similar as possible before bringing them together, so it’s important to mix the tehina thoroughly before adding it to the mousse.

Tehina semifreddo is superb with seasonal fruit such as strawberries, rhubarb, and rose water in the summertime and passion fruit and lime in winter. And it’s not half bad drenched in chocolate sauce with bananas and whipped cream. Here, I crumble Tehina Shortbread Cookies (see recipe) on top.

• 2 cups heavy cream, well chilled
• 7 large egg yolks
• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup tehina

● In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment (or use a hand mixer and a big bowl) whip the cream to medium peaks. Refrigerate.

● Combine the yolks and sugar in a small metal bowl set over a saucepan with ½ inch of gently simmering water on the bottom. Whisk constantly until the sugar is dissolved and the yolks have lightened in color, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.

● Transfer about one third of the whipped cream to another large bowl and pour in the yolk mixture. Stir together until well combined. Add half the remaining cream and fold gently with a rubber spatula until just incorporated. Repeat with the remaining whipped cream.

● In another large bowl, combine ½ cup of the whipped cream–yolk mixture with the tehina and stir until well combined. Carefully fold in the rest of the whipped cream–yolk mixture with a rubber spatula. Divide among eight 4- to 6-ounce bowls or ramekins, cover with plastic wrap, and freeze for up to 3 days.