Blackberry Semifreddo with Warm Blueberry Sauce

Semifreddo has always been one of those fancy sounding desserts that I, as a girl who will almost always choose a steak over something sweet, figured was just another way for gourmet chefs to slap a sexy-sounding label on something overworked, overcomplicated, and not so different from good ol ice cream.

However, as I was hunting around for a dessert for a big dinner party, semifreddos popped up as just what I needed because:

a. It can be made ahead of time and served with little last minute effort
b. It sounded cool and refreshing for a mid-summer dinner

Well, let me tell you, now that I’ve tasted the fruit of knowledge of the semifreddo, there is NO going back! Eating this dessert is like putting lightly frozen, fluffy, creamy blackberry clouds in your mouthy. Each gentle bite leaves a cool kiss of fruit & cream on your tongue. I swear. It is THAT good. MMMM!!!!!!

AND…it was very easy to make for someone like me who HATES baking b/c of the precision required. I started with a recipe that was scary b/c it required candy thermometers and scary measuring equipment like that. But after making two batches of the stuff, I can tell you that is pretty forgiving and friendly! I messed up a few things, didnt’ have a working candy thermometor and was still able to turn out a delicious tasting dessert!

So here goes the recipe. As I mentioned last time, be warned that you may find yourself licking the mixing bowls clean before the concoction can even make it into the freezer!

Ingredients:

Semifreddo

• 2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 3 large eggs, 2 egg yolks
• 1/3 cup fine sugar
• 1 pint blackberries (or whatever berries you like!)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 lemon

Steps:

1. Get out a bread loaf pan and line it with plastic wrap. Put a rubberband around the top if you want to hold it in place better.

 
(I used sliced almonds here, but I’d probably not do that next time, as I felt the almond flavor interfered with the  fruitiness of the semifreddo. Of course it did not keep me from eating a ton of this dessert! You may want to line with fruit instead)

2. Heat up a pot of 1-2 inches water to boiling.

3. Crack the 3 eggs and 2 egg yolks into a glass bowl. Add sugar and vanilla and whip slightly while waiting for water to boil.

4. Also while waiting for water to boil, throw the blackberries into a blender and puree them. Add a squeeze of lemon at the end. Set aside.

5. Once the water is boiling, place your egg bowl on top of the water, and keep whisking until you see the mixture get foamy and thicker. This should take about 5 min. Whisk continuously. If you have a working candy thermometer, feel free to use it and get your mixture up to 160 degrees F.

 
(The candy thermometor in this pic is just for show. It definitely did NOT work and did not help me figure out when the stuff was ready!!)

6. Remove from heat and place in a standing mixer. Mix on medium until you start getting soft peaks. It should like kind like this:

 

Pour into a bowl and then gently fold in the blackberry puree. Be careful not to overmix. Just till you’ve got some pretty marbling.

7. Clean out your mixing bowl and wipe it dry (to help with the whipping!). Add your heavy cream and let ‘er rip until you get some slightly harder than soft peaks. (I also made the mistake of walking away for too long and came back to a bowl of completely whipped cream, and this STILL worked fine!)

8. Fold together the whipped cream and egg/blackberry/sugar mixture.

9. Stick your finger in the bowl and taste the clouds! OMG.

10. Try to stop yourself from getting a spoon and eating the whole thing.

11. Pour the mixture into your bread loaf pan lined with plastic wrap. Cover the top with plastic wrap, and then a layer of foil. Put the whole thing in the freezer overnight.

12. To serve, take the pan out of the freezer about 30 min before serving and let it thaw slightly. Using the edges of plastic wrap hanging over the edge, pull the whole thing out and place onto a serving plate.

Continue to let it thaw untl you can slice it pretty easily. Serve with fresh berries, or a warm blueberry sauce.

Look at that velvety, but light texture!!!

ENJOY!!! This is my new fave dessert and I can’t stop thinking about what other flavors would be great in this medium!!

Oh, and here’s the blueberry sauce recipe. You can make this a few hours before serving and put it in the fridge.Nuke it for a min or two before serving!

Blueberry Sauce

• 2 pints blueberries
• 1/3 cup sugar
• zest of an orange

Steps:

!. Put blueberries & sugar in a small saucepan and turn the heat to medium

2. Stir intermittently as the mixture comes to boil. Mashup the berries a lil too.

3. Zest one orange into the pot. This REALLY makes the flavors pop!

4. Sauce is ready when it’s pourable but still chunky/syrupy. Serve immediately, or place in fridge til dessert time, and you can nuke it up.

5. Spoon some on the semifreddo and prepare to lift off!!!