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Black Forest Semifreddo

17/11/2023

The Black Forest Semifreddo is a delicious and sophisticated variant that takes inspiration from the classic German Black Forest Cake (Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte). It is a spoon dessert with a base of chocolate biscuit, topped with layers of Chantilly cream and cherries, all frozen to achieve a semifreddo texture. Here is the recipe to prepare it:

Ingredients

For the chocolate biscuit:

  • 3 eggs
  • 80 g of sugar
  • 60 g of flour
  • 20 g of unsweetened cocoa powder

For the Chantilly cream:

  • 500 ml of fresh cream
  • 100 g of powdered sugar

For the filling and finishing:

  • 250 g of cherried in syrup (preferably maraschino or kirsch)
  • Dark chocolate shavings

Optional:

  • Kirsch or cherry liqueur to flavor the cream

Preparation

  1. For the chocolate biscuit base: Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Whip the eggs with the sugar until they become frothy and pale in color. Sift the flour with the cocoa and gently fold it into the egg mixture. Pour the dough onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper, leveling it well, and bake in the oven for about 12 minutes. Once ready, let it cool and then cut it to the shape of your semifreddo mold.

  2. For the Chantilly cream: Whip the well-chilled cream with the powdered sugar until you get a firm but soft consistency.

  3. Assembling the semifreddo: Cut the cherries in syrup in half, setting aside the syrup. Place the chocolate biscuit base at the bottom of the mold. If you want, you can lightly soak the biscuit with some cherry liquid to give it a stronger flavor.

  4. Gently mix some of the cherries with the Chantilly cream and pour a first layer over the biscuit. Add whole cherries and then pour another layer of cream. Continue this way until the mold is filled, ending with a last layer of cream.

  5. Level the surface well and cover with cling film. Let it rest in the freezer for at least 4 hours.

  6. Before serving, remove the semifreddo from the freezer and let it soften slightly. Flip it onto a serving plate and decorate with dark chocolate shavings and cherries in syrup.

  7. Serve about 10-15 minutes after it has been removed from the freezer, to allow it to reach the ideal consistency.

Curiosity

The name “Black Forest” derives from the use of Kirsch liqueur, characteristic of this German region, and dark cherries. The semifreddo version retains the main flavors but with a fresher and creamier texture, typical of spoon desserts.

Black Forest Semifreddo