Mini Vanilla Bean Semifreddos

Semifreddo is essentially frozen custard that’s lightened with whipped cream. It tastes like the smoothest and most delicious vanilla ice cream you’ve never had. I jacked up my recipe with vanilla bean seeds and froze them in muffin cups for easy serving, no ice cream scoop needed. There’s even a surprise in the center of each one; cake-like vanilla wafers and fruity raspberry preserves. Each semifreddo is creamy and rich, yet light and refreshing. They're also portion controlled so that you can still work towards your summer beach bod. (Unless you’re like me and you eat three in one sitting. Woops.)

Here’s a little preview into the surprising simple process. You start by making custard over simmering water. Here’s a look at the set up I used. The glass bowl gets placed into the saucepan after the eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt are lightly beaten.

After about 8 minutes of beating the custard ingredients over the simmering water, it’ll thicken up to a marshmallow-fluff-like consistency. Pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a large bowl and set aside to let it cool. In the meantime, wash some dishes, chill your beater, and then whip up some heavy cream to stiff peaks. It’s just about ready to assemble! Whipped cream (left hand side) and custard (right hand side) are about to come together in a beautiful marriage.

Awwww yeah, fold that baby together. This is also a perfect time to sneak a taste.

Then it’s time to start the assembling process! This is best explained visually so here ya go!

Repeat, repeat, repeat! If you’re a lucky duck and own two muffin pans, you can definitely make the entire recipe in muffin cups. However, if you’re like me and only own one, you can just use ramekins or small bowls for the remaining semifreddo. I would recommend using plastic or metal instead of glass or ceramic though. I used ceramic ramekins and the plastic wrap to the sides of the bowl and was kind of difficult to remove. It’s still fine to use glass or ceramic but you’ll just have to work harder to eat one later.

When you’re done assembling, just cover the entire pan with aluminum foil and pop it in the freezer. The most difficult part of this recipe is probably the wait.

A few hours later, you can finally dig into semifreddo! It melts pretty quickly so eat it as soon as you take it out of the freezer.

Happy munching!!

Mini Vanilla-Bean Semifreddos

Makes about 1 ½ dozen

Loosely adapted from Donna Hay

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs + 2 egg yolks

• 1 cup superfine sugar

• Pinch of salt

• 1 vanilla bean

• 2 cups heavy cream

• About ⅓ cup raspberry preserves

• 16-20 vanilla wafers

Preparation:

1. Add the eggs, egg yolks, sugar, and salt to a heatproof bowl. (The mixture will about double in volume so use a good-sized bowl.) Slice the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape the seeds into the bowl. Combine with a handheld mixer.

2. Bring water to a simmer in a saucepan. Place the bowl in the saucepan over the simmering water and beat continuously with the handheld mixer until the mixer is thick and pale, about 6-8 minutes. The mixture will be about the consistency of marshmallow fluff when you’re done.

3. Turn off the heat. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a large mixing bowl. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

4. Meanwhile, wash and dry the beaters from your handheld mixer. Place the beaters in a large non-reactive bowl and refrigerate until chilled, about 10 minutes. Pour the heavy cream into the bowl and beat until stiff peaks form. Carefully fold the whipped cream into the egg mixture until evenly combined.

5. Place a piece of plastic wrap in a muffin cup and press down to line the cup. Scoop about 2 tablespoons of the cream mixture into the cup. Place 1 vanilla-wafer in the cream and dot about 1 teaspoon of raspberry preserves on top of the vanilla-wafer. Add about two more tablespoons of the cream mixture to fill up the muffin cup. Fold the plastic wrap over the top. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.

6. Cover the filled muffin pans with aluminum foil and freeze for at least 4 hours or overnight. When ready to serve, pull a semifreddo out of the muffin pan, unwrap the plastic, and place a plate on top. Slide your hand underneath the plastic and carefully invert the semifreddo onto the plate. Discard the plastic wrap, garnish as desired, and serve immediately.

#italian #dessert #eggs #cream #raspberries