Berry Semifreddo
Semifreddo means “half-cold” in Italian: a mousse of cooked yolks and whipped cream, frozen in a tin and cut into slices. All that air means it never sets rock-hard and melts on the tongue like a chilled soufflé. We don’t stir the berry purée in completely but layer it, so every slice shows bright marbled ripples.
- Prep
- 45 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Rest
- 6 h
- Total
- 7 h
- Servings
- 8
- Level
- Medium
- Per serving
- 280 kcal
Ingredients
For the berry purée
For the semifreddo
Makes: 1.5-litre loaf tin, 8 slices
Shopping list
The ingredients for the servings you chose — copy them or send them to a messenger. Tick what you already have at home: only the rest goes on the list.
Method
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Step 1: Line the tin
Line a 1.5-litre (2 lb) loaf tin with cling film, leaving 5–6 cm overhanging on all sides so you can lift the semifreddo out later.
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Step 2: Cook the purée
Cook the berries with 40 g sugar over medium heat for 5–6 minutes until they burst and collapse. Push through a sieve, stir in the lemon juice and cool completely — you’ll have about 200 ml of thick purée.
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Step 3: Cook the yolks
In a heatproof bowl, whisk the yolks with 100 g sugar, set over a pan of barely simmering water (the bowl mustn’t touch the water) and beat with a hand mixer for 6–8 minutes. The mixture turns pale, triples in volume and reaches 75–80 °C; the beaters leave a clear trail.
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Step 4: Cool while whisking
Take the bowl off the heat and keep beating for about 5 minutes until it cools to room temperature. If it’s still warm it will melt the cream, so don’t rush.
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Step 5: Whip and fold
Whip the cold cream with the vanilla to soft peaks — it holds its shape but the tip curls over. Fold into the yolk mixture in two batches, gently, lifting from the bottom.
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Step 6: Marble it
Spoon a third of the mixture into the tin and drizzle over a third of the purée; repeat twice more. Draw a knife or skewer through in a few figure-of-eight loops to marble, without mixing it in.
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Step 7: Freeze
Fold the overhanging film over the top and freeze for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.
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Step 8: Slice and serve
Lift out by the film, turn onto a plate and peel off the film. Slice 2 cm thick with a knife dipped in hot water and serve with fresh berries.
Tips & variations
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Tip
Heating the yolks to 75–80 °C makes the dessert safe and gives a stable foam. Without a thermometer, look for a thick, pale mixture that holds a trail from the beaters.
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Variation
Apricot or mango purée works in place of berries — cut the sugar in the purée to 20 g if the fruit is sweet.
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Tip
No need to soften it before serving — semifreddo slices straight from the freezer.
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Storage
Wrapped tightly in film and foil, it keeps in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 8 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 280 kcal | 2,240 kcal |
| Protein | 3 g | 24 g |
| Fat | 19 g | 152 g |
| Carbohydrates | 23 g | 184 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
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