Cherry and Almond Semifreddo

17/11/2023

Cherry and Almond Semifreddo is a fresh and tempting dessert. Here is the recipe to prepare it, with the Italian touch that makes it even more special.

Ingredients

500 g of pitted cherries
250 ml of whipping cream
100 g of sugar
50 ml of water
3 egg yolks
100 g of peeled almonds
1 sachet of vanillin or the seeds of a vanilla pod
Amaretti biscuits as needed (necessary quantity) for the base

Preparation

Start by toasting the almonds in the oven or in a pan until they are golden brown. Let them cool and then chop them roughly.
Prepare a syrup by dissolving the sugar in the water over medium heat. Once the sugar is completely dissolved, let it cool.
In the meantime, whisk the egg yolks with the vanillin using an electric mixer until you have a light and fluffy mixture.
Separately, whip the cream until it is very firm.
Gently incorporate the whipped yolks into the now cold sugar syrup.
Add the cherries and chopped almonds to the yolk and sugar mixture, mixing carefully.
Fold in the whipped cream with gentle movements from top to bottom to keep it from deflating.
Line a loaf pan with cling film, to facilitate the unmolding of the semifreddo later.
Make a base of crumbled amaretti biscuits at the bottom of the pan.
Pour the mixture into the pan over the amaretti base, level it and cover it with cling film.
Place it in the freezer for at least 4-6 hours, or better yet, overnight.
When ready to serve, gently turn out the semifreddo onto a serving plate and decorate as desired with fresh cherries, slivered almonds, or chocolate strands.

Remember to remove the semifreddo from the freezer about ten minutes before serving, to facilitate slicing and to offer a soft and pleasantly cool consistency.

Curiosity

The “semifreddo” is a dessert of Italian origin, classified among the ice creams. Its specialty lies in the soft and velvety texture, not completely frozen like that of ice cream, and lends itself to numerous variations both in ingredients and in methods of preparation, as in the case of the version with cherries and almonds.