A semi-freddo means half-cold but spoiler-alert, it’s just as cold as any other frozen dessert. Frozen is frozen, no? You can’t call a semifreddo ice cream because you’re technically not making a crème Anglais with egg yolks, the traditional base of any true ice cream recipe. It’s ridiculously easy and equally as impressive – trust me! It’s super transportable too — bring it along in the loaf pan!
Please note that this recipe contains raw egg whites – and there are certain groups of people for whom raw egg whites may not be suitable – pregnant women, very young children and the elderly.
If it’s not cherry season and you can’t find fresh cherries, you can easily use frozen cherries or even dried cherries. You can also skip the fruit and replace it with toasted almonds. That is the nice thing about a semifreddo – it is perfectly customizable.
INGREDIENTS
- 4 large egg whites
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp. pure almond extract
- 1/3 cup Amaretto liqueur
- 1 cup fresh or frozen cherries pitted and coarsely chopped
- 3/4 cup dark chocolate coarsely chopped
- 1 cup Italian Amaretti cookies coarsely chopped
METHOD
Method:
- Line a 9 inch by 5 inch loaf pan with plastic wrap, making sure to leave an extra overhang of plastic wrap at both sides as it will help you remove the semifreddo from the loaf pan once it’s frozen.
- Separate the eggs, put the whites into a bowl. Whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the cream, sugar, Amaretto liqueur and almond extract until the cream becomes whipped cream. You don’t want the cream to separate so be careful -Start off by whisking at a high speed until the cream begins to get thick and then lower the whisking speed until you get a soft whipped cream.
- Pour the whipped egg whites into the bowl with the whipped cream and gently fold the egg whites into the cream.
- Fold in the cherries, cookies and chocolate into the mixture until evenly distributed throughout the mixture.
- Pour the mixture into your plastic-wrap-lined loaf pan and cover the top of the semifreddo with a layer of wax paper and then foil paper.
- Put into the freezer (on a levelled shelf) and leave to get frozen for a minimum of five hours.
- When you’re ready to serve your semifreddo, invert it onto a flat plate, discard the plastic wrap. Cut it into slices and top it with chocolate and cookie pieces as well as extra cherries. Serve it immediately – enjoy!
