Vicki here, and I'm delighted to welcome a Canadian author friend of many years, Melodie Campbell to tell us about her new book and share a recipe. Melodie is known for her wicked sense of humour which has no trouble coming across in her writing.
I’ve always felt sorry for the women on the Titanic who passed on dessert. So does my protagonist, Lucy Revelstoke, in the 1928-set cozy mystery, The Merry Widow Murders. Desserts on the Victoriana ocean liner are elaborate, but in her opinion nothing can compare to homemade lemon semifreddo.
The name means ‘half frozen’ in
Italian. Growing up, I was told that the
difference between ice cream and a semifreddo is that ice cream has air whipped
into it *after* being frozen. In my
recipe (and in most original recipes) air is whipped in *before* being frozen.
This recipe has been joyfully modified from
the original by a gal who was a big fan of short-cuts. That intrepid lady was my mother, a woman as
Sicilian as they come, and I defy anyone to find a better tasting lemon
dessert. Truly, it will be the easiest
dessert you’ve ever made!
Melodie’s Magic Lemon Semifreddo
20 minutes to make! Serves 6.
1 300 ml or 10 oz can Sweetened Condensed
Milk (NOT low fat)
¾ cup fresh lemon juice (3-5 lemons depending
on size)
1 spray can whipped cream (NOT low fat) or
2 cups fresh whipped
Squeeze the lemons. You should have ¾ cup of fresh lemon
juice. (No substitutes! The lemon juice must be fresh.) I make this dessert every month, so invested
in an electric lemon squeezer, as pictured.
You simply halve the lemons and press down on the revolving press.)
Combine the sweetened condensed milk with
the lemon juice in a bowl, and mix well.
Wait ten minutes until it thickens.
Measure 2 cups of whipped cream. Yes, you can whip your own if you prefer that
over the can. (I do for company.) Fold the whipped cream into the lemon
mixture, gently but thoroughly. Ladle
into six ramekin cups, or small glass bowls, and freeze for at least four
hours.
To serve:
This is like a very rich lemon ice cream if you serve it directly from
the freezer. I like to take it out about
15 to 20 minutes before serving, to soften it slightly, and some people allow
even more time than that. It’s up to you! Dollop a little whipped cream on top, and wait
for the compliments!
Called the “Queen of Comedy" by The
Toronto Sun, Melodie
Campbell has been compared to Janet Evanovich by Library Journal. No surprise, as she got her start writing
standup. Melodie has won ten awards for
humorous mystery fiction, including the Crime Writers of Canada Award of
Excellence. Her seventeenth book, The
Merry Widow Murders, has just been released by Cormorant Books.
“The high society flair of Death on the
Nile meets a 1920s ocean liner in this sensational cozy mystery from Melodie
Campbell.” Open Book
Lucy Revelstoke, unconventional widow of a
young British lord and daughter of a Canadian mobster, is crossing the Atlantic
in 1928. When an inconvenient dead body shows up in her stateroom, Lucy and
her-pickpocket-turned-maid Elf know how to make it disappear--and find the
killer. But can they do it before authorities look into Lucy’s dodgy past?
Now it’s your turn. I am ALWAYS looking for very easy homemade desserts. Do you have any favourites?
And while you’re at it, why not enter my contest for a free book? You can ask for The Merry Widow Murders, or any of my books. Simply visit my website to see more books. Pick a book, leave your selection in the comments here, and a winner will be announced Monday by midnight. www.melodiecampbell.com
