Two cool Italian desserts for hot days: semifreddo with berries, coffee mousse

"Everyone can invent one," American-adopted, Italian cookbook writer Marcella Hazan once said of semifreddo, "And when you're thinking of a dessert for a party, they are more attractive to serve than plain ice cream, because they can be unmolded and sliced."

Hazan was right – it is one of the easiest desserts to adapt to your tastes or what's around the kitchen. This recipe actually is a distant relative of one of her recipes for chocolate semifreddo, where dark chocolate is finely grated and mixed through the cream for a speckled chocolate-chip-like semifreddo.

Use different nuts, mix berries through it, or instead of the berries and honey flavours here try coffee or rum splashed into the mix and chopped dark chocolate over the top. Not only is it adaptable, semifreddo takes no time to make and requires no fancy equipment (a pair of beaters and a couple of bowls is all you need). It's also an excellent dessert for preparing for when you have guests over as it can be made well in advance.

A few simple things to keep in mind to help get a nice whip and good air into the mixture (the air after all is what keeps this frozen dessert light and creamy without having to churn it) are to use very cold cream (some even like to put the bowl and the beaters for whipping the cream in the fridge to chill too) and room temperature egg whites before starting. Also do not overwhip the cream or the egg whites, they should be soft and fluffy, but not whipped to stiff, firm peaks.

Freeze the semifreddo in a Tupperware container or a small loaf pan/cake tin – the rectangular shape makes it easy to cut into slices to serve. But for a different look, you could use a round mould and cut into slices like cake – pudding moulds and bundt pans make pretty semifreddi. You can even make individual semifreddi in small teacups or ramekins.

Almond and honey semifreddo with berries

INGREDIENTS

250ml well-chilled cream (use single or pouring cream)
2 tablespoons honey, plus more for garnish
50g sugar
3 egg whites
50g raw whole almonds, very finely chopped
300g mixed or your favourite berries

METHOD

In a large bowl, whip the cream just until it thickens and begins to show soft peaks.

Warm the honey and dissolve the sugar in it.

With clean beaters and a separate bowl, begin whipping the egg whites. When frothy and opaque, add the sugar and honey mixture, a little at a time, until well incorporated. Keep whipping until the whites become a smooth mixture with soft peaks.

Fold the chopped almonds and the whipped cream gently through the egg whites. Pour into your chosen container lined with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 4 hours.

To serve, tip the container upside-down onto a board or plate, remove plastic and allow to soften about 10 minutes at room temperature. During this time you can decorate the top of the semifreddo with a pile of berries and a good drizzle of honey. Cut into slices and serve.

This recipe can easily be doubled.

Serves 6

Ricotta al caffe - Italian coffee mousse

Sometimes simple is best. This fluffy, mousse-like dessert, inspired by a similar recipe in Elizabeth David's 1954 cookbook, Italian Food, takes just minutes to put together. Served well-chilled in little glasses, the uplifting boost from the coffee and the hint of booziness from the rum, makes it an elegant and surprisingly light end to a meal.

It's a versatile dessert too – you can build on it, adding thin biscuits, perhaps dipped in espresso or dessert wine before being crumbled into a glass and layered with this ricotta cream, almost like an impromptu tiramisu. It's also delicious as a filling for Sicilian style cannoli. You can leave out the rum if you prefer a non-boozy dessert.

As this is such a simple dessert, I cannot stress how worthwhile it is to get good ricotta, preferably the type that can stand on its own and that you buy by the weight in slices rather than something that comes in a tub and has a softer, runnier and grainier consistency. The whipped cream adds lightness to the dessert but you may also like to try it the way Elizabeth David suggests, which is to serve the whipped cream on the side rather than mix it through.

INGREDIENTS

250g ricotta
90g castor sugar
1 shot strong espresso (alternatively, 1 teaspoon of ground coffee)
splash of rum
100ml well-chilled full fat cream
a few pinches of ground coffee for garnish

METHOD

Pass the ricotta through a sieve with a silicon spatula to ensure it is very smooth. Mix in the sugar, espresso and rum until well combined.

Whip the cream until it holds firm peaks but be careful not to over-whip and turn it to butter.

Carefully fold through the whipped cream until well-incorporated and fill small ramekins or glasses with the mixture. Allow to chill about 1 hour before serving, and sprinkle with a dusting of coffee grounds on top.

Serves 4