Raspberry and Pistachio Semifreddo recipe - Carbs By Numbers

Why eat and be merry and go dieting tomorrow when you can indulge and be healthy at the same time?  Following the success of their cookbook, Carbs By Numbers, which was published earlier this year (and one of our dear readers won a copy of the book), Sandra Dunbar and Meg Pell have come up with a brand new cookbook just in time for Christmas.  Carbs By Numbers - Low-carb recipe options - Christmas has delicious Christmas recipes that have 15 grams of carbs or less per serving.

Sandra and Meg have given makeovers to traditional Christmas recipes so that there are options to suit those who are gluten-free, diabetic, vegetarian, vegan, egg-free and nut-free.  Recipes include: Cranberry Nut Roast, Roast Loin of Pork with Baked Apples, Cream Cheese Mince Pies, Sherry Berry Trifle and Mocha Cream Truffles.  As with their first book, each recipe in Carbs By Numbers - Low-carb recipe options - Christmas has an extended nutrition panel for your reference.


Photo supplied - Raspberry and Pistachio Semifreddo

Thanks to Sandra and Meg, we have a gorgeous recipe to share with our dear readers, which is perfect for the festive season.

Raspberry and Pistachio Semifreddo

Recipe from Carbs By Numbers - Low-carb recipe options - Christmas by Sandra Dunbar and Meg Pell

8g carbs per serve
A semi-frozen delight. Ensure the eggs are at room temperature. We used a 1cm long x cm wide (base) x 6cm deep loaf pan.

• 300g raspberries, fresh
• 40g pistachio nuts 
• ¼ cup sugar substitute of choice or xylitol (55g)
• 1 tablespoon (20ml) rose water 
• 1¾ cups (430ml) cream, thickened, regular fat 
• 2 eggs 
• 4 egg yolks 

1.  Grease and line the loaf pan with cling wrap or baking paper. Allow a generous overhang to help remove the log.
2.  Roughly chop the pistachios and lightly dry roast them in a pan.
3.  Place the eggs, egg yolks and sugar substitute in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of boiling water, making sure that the bowl does not touch the water.
4.  Immediately reduce to a simmer and whisk the egg mixture for about 5 minutes or until it is of a light custard consistency and can form a figure 8 on the surface.
5.  Remove from the heat and continue whisking until it cools. Set aside with a cover of cling film on the surface to prevent a skin forming.
6.  Whip the cream and gently fold into the custard mixture with the pistachios, rose water and half of the raspberries.
7.  Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf pan, cover and freeze overnight or until it is firm.
8.  Remove from the freezer and allow to stand for at least 5 minutes before turning onto a serving plate.
9.  Top with the remaining raspberries.

Prep time 30 mins; total time 5 hrs; serves 8; serve weight 130g

Nutrition panel
per serving
energy 1357.1kj 
energy 324.2cal 
protein 6.1g 
total fat 26.5g 
saturated fat 14.5g 
cholesterol 197mg 
carbohydrate 7.6g 
sugars 7.3g 
dietary fibre 5.1g 
vitamin C 20.4mg 
total vitamin A equivalents 323.2µg 
sodium 43.5mg 
potassium 239.8mg 
calcium 71.8mg 
iron 1.2mg


Photo supplied

Find it at

Carbs By Numbers - Low-carb recipe options - Christmas is available in softback from all good bookstores and at www.carbsbynumbers.com. It has a RRP of $19.95. The eBook is available on Kobo, Amazon and iBooks for $7.95.