All, Dessert, Recipes

Scoopable Almond Semifreddo with Raspberry Swirl

By Casa de Suna

Published Jul 14

Semifreddo is Italy’s ultra-chic answer to ice cream cake.

The base is cream, sugar, and eggs, all of which come together beautifully–plus almond, raspberry, and lemon zest; for the nutty, fruity, and punchy additional depths of flavor. It’s low effort when it comes to prep (though do note the chilling and freezing times), but the payoff is more than worth it.

How to Make It

Difficulty: Moderate

Overall Time: 9 hrs 50 min

Prep Time: 50 min + 1 hr chilling time + 8 hours freezing time

Serves: 6

Ingredients

Raspberry Swirl

12 oz raspberries, about 2 ¾ cups
⅓ cups granulated sugar
1 ½ tsp fresh lemon juice

Semifreddo

3 large egg whites
½ cup granulated sugar
Seeds from 1 vanilla bean
½ tsp almond extract
¼ tsp lemon zest
1 ½ cups 35% cream
2 tbsp sliced natural almonds, lightly toasted, plus extra for serving

Instructions

For the swirl, set a fine-mesh sieve over a medium bowl. Set aside.
Using a potato masher, crush raspberries with sugar in a medium-size saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until color has intensified, and mixture has reduced to 1 ¼ cups, about 6 to 8 minutes. Pass through sieve to remove seeds, working mixture well to ensure all the raspberry pulp has passed through. Stir in lemon juice, then refrigerate, uncovered, until chilled, 1 hour.
For the semifreddo, fill a large pot with 1-inch water. Bring to a boil.
Combine egg whites with sugar and vanilla seeds in a large heatproof bowl. Set on top of the pot, ensuring the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, whisking constantly, until sugar has dissolved, and mixture is very warm to the touch, about 3 to 4 minutes. Scrape mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer. Then using the whisk attachment, whisk on medium speed until mixture is glossy and completely cooled to room temperature, about 10 minutes. Whisk in almond extract and zest.
Whisk cream in a large bowl until soft peaks form. Gently fold into cooled egg whites just until combined. Scrape one-third of cream-mixture into a 9 x 5-inch metal pan, smoothing top. Drizzle one-third of raspberry mixture over top. Swirl with a wooden skewer. Repeat layering and swirling two more times with remaining cream and raspberry-mixture. Sprinkle over almonds, then cover with plastic wrap. Freeze until firm, at least 8 hours.
To serve, scoop semifreddo and top with additional almonds. Serve immediately.