Welcome to Kitchen Queries, where the nigella.com team will answer your cooking or food related questions.  We’d love you to submit some of your recipe problems, dilemmas or queries for us to get our teeth into!

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• Honey Semifreddo

  Hi, can the Honey Semifreddo (Forever Summer, p242) be made several days in advance? The recipe only states 2-3 hours. Thanks!

  Posted by gingeypops. Answered on 24th Nov 2011 at 12.00

  From the nigella team:

  In the Honey Semifreddo recipe the 2-3 hours in the freezer is the minimum amount of time that the semifreddo will take to become firm and it is possible to make the semifreddo a few days in advance. However, as Nigella mentions in the introduction to the recipe, semifreddo means "semi cold" so if you do make it in advance then you should transfer it from the freezer to the fridge 30 to 45 minutes before you want to serve it so that the dessert has time to soften slightly (sometimes called "ripening"). The texture and flavour will be better than if it has just come out of the freezer and it will also be easier to slice.

  If you want to make the semifreddo ahead of time then we suggest that you do it 2 to 3 days in advance. Home-made ice creams tend to last less well than commercially made varieies and as the semifreddo is not made with the classic egg custard it will also not keep as well. We would suggest that it is consumed within one week for the best quality - beyond this the texture will start to become a little more icy and hard.

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