Cherry and Chocolate Semifreddo
Cherry and Chocolate Semifreddo is a light, creamy frozen dessert that taste like frozen mousse, it’s made with heavy cream, condensed milk and mascarpone cheese with cherries and chocolate shards. Literally made with 4-5 ingredients.
Semifreddo – semi (half) freddo (frozen or cold) is a frozen dessert. Usually its made with a base of custard or zabaglione with egg yolks, sugar and cream. It has the texture of frozen mousse.
I have made this with eggs previously, but this recipe contains no eggs. Instead, I have used condensed milk, simplified the whole process. Italians might disagree with me. 😊
This dessert has very few ingredients and flavored with cherries and chocolate. I went cherry picking and came back with 5 pounds of them. We ate some, I made preserves and some of it is added in this semifreddo. The best part about semifreddo is that you do not need an ice cream maker or any other special equipment to make it.
If you are celebrating any occasion or just want to impress someone this make ahead dessert is great to try. Freeze it in round cheesecake pan for a birthday celebration.
I love how Italians can make anything superior by using minimal ingredients.
How to make Semifreddo ?
There are three components to this recipe:
Making Cherries preserves or use store-bought cherries or preserves. You can use fresh cherries, but I like a little concentrated flavor of fruits and it also makes it jammy removing excess water content. It hardly takes time when you make small quantities of cherry preserves. You can totally skip this and use store bought ones.
Second component is chocolate. You can easily use chopped chocolate or chocolate chips. But I love the texture of chocolate shards so much. Again, it’s an extra step but very easy step. You just melt chocolate in a double boiler and then spread that warm melted chocolate on a parchment paper and let it set in the fridge until its firm and set. Then roll the parchment and break up the pieces. If melting the chocolate in a microwave, melt it at 1 minute intervals. Or else you will burn or scorch the chocolate.
You can literally make more and use it for ice creams or store it for later use.
The main step is the making of semifreddo – the simplest step. The heavy cream is whipped first to soft peaks, then add condensed milk and mascarpone cheese and keep whipping until you get the consistency of fluffy medium peaks of clouds and it has doubled up in size.
Then I swirled in the cherry preserves and some chocolate shards and mixed it with the help of a spatula. You can even blend the cherry preserves into the whipped cream mix if you wish. I wanted to keep it white to light pink in color and also wanted bites of cherries not just all mixed in. Basically how you mix in is totally person al choice.
How to serve this?
- You can set it in a loaf pan lined with a plastic wrap. If you own a cheesecake pan with removable sides that’s best and easier too. Slice it and top it with more cherries, chocolate or nuts can also be added.
- You can set in a container and scoop it out like ice cream by using ice cream scoop.
- You can also divide it up into separate bowls or mugs and let it set up as cold mousse. There is no right or wrong way.
Some tips in unmolding it if you set it in a loaf pan. Take out the loaf pan at room temperature for few minutes and then try to unmold it. If its too cold, try using an air dryer on the bottom of the loaf pan. Do it gently without melting it. It will help loosen it. Just be careful to not melt it. If at all it melts slightly, then remove it from the loaf pan, transfer it with the plastic wrap in a serving platter. Cover it with plastic wrap and put it back in the freezer for 10 minutes. It will set back into shape.
Cherry and Chocolate Semifreddo
Ingredients
- 1 cup cherry preserves
- 1 ½ cup heavy cream cold
- ¾ cup condensed milk
- ½ cup mascarpone cheese room temperature
- Chocolate shards or chocolate chips
Instructions
Cherry preserves
- Take 2 cups of pitted cherries and roughly chop them.
- Take the cherries in a pot on medium heat and add about 1/4 – 1/2 cup sugar. Let it simmer and cook until the cherries have reduced, and water has evaporated, and it looks jammy in consistency. Keep stirring in between with the help of a spatula. Once it’s done, remove it in a bowl or container. Let it cool completely for few hours or store it in the refrigerator overnight.
- You can avoid this step and buy store bought cherry preserves or cherries in sugar syrup.
Chocolate Shards
- Take 4 oz. of dark chocolate in a bowl. Place this chocolate bowl on a double boiler filled with water. You Let the chocolate melt. It will take 5 minutes roughly.
- Meanwhile, spread a parchment paper. Once the chocolate has completely melted. Carefully pour hot chocolate on the parchment paper, spread it using a spatula. The thickness of chocolate depends on personal choice, spread accordingly. If you want to keep it thick, then do not spread too thinly.
- Put this parchment paper on a tray carefully and put it in the freezer. Let it freeze for few hours.
- Once its frozen, roll the paper and press the paper, break the chocolate shards in any desired shapes. Keep them back in the freezer until ready to use.
Semifreddo
- Take cold heavy cream in a mixing bowl, using a hand blender or a whisk whip heavy cream until soft peaks form. Then add ¾ cup of condensed milk and mascarpone cheese and whip some more until you get medium peaks, and the volume has increased, and the mixture has doubled. Fold in half of the cooled cherry preserves and some of the chocolate shards. Leave some for later.
- Transfer the mixture in a prepared loaf pan lined with plastic wrap. You can swirl in some more cherry preserves if you like and add some more shards. Cover the hanging plastic wrap completely all over the loaf pan.
- Immediately put it in the freezer to chill over night or at least 6 hours.
- Once chilled, remove it and garnish it with more chocolate and cherries. You can also add some chopped nuts on top. Serve it sliced.
- Read tips on different ways to prepare and serve.
