Description
A festive and creamy Christmas Semifreddo featuring roasted almonds, walnuts, and golden and regular raisins, flavored with warm spices like cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and vanilla. This no-bake frozen dessert is perfect for holiday celebrations, combining the crunch of nuts with the sweetness of raisins in a smooth, whipped cream and egg yolk mixture.
Ingredients
Scale
For the semifreddo
- 4 egg yolks
- 60 ml water
- 60 g granulated sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- pinch nutmeg
- 1 tsp vanilla paste or seeds from 1 vanilla pod, or 1 tsp vanilla extract, or 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 40 g almonds
- 40 g walnuts
- 30 g golden raisins, chopped
- 30 g regular raisins, chopped
- 250 ml whipping cream, cold (whip with 4 tbsp icing sugar if skipping raisins)
To garnish
- Chopped almonds
- Chopped walnuts
- Chopped raisins
- Icing sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Roast nuts: Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Roast almonds and walnuts for 8 minutes or until lightly golden. Allow to cool, then chop coarsely.
- Prepare pan: Line a 22x11cm bread pan with baking paper, cutting it to size and adhering it with a bit of vegetable oil spread with kitchen paper to keep it in place.
- Beat egg yolks: Place egg yolks in a bowl and start beating on low speed to prevent formation of a dry skin on top.
- Make sugar syrup: Boil water and granulated sugar over medium heat, dissolving completely; then let it boil vigorously. Once at a rolling boil (without thickening), slowly pour syrup down the side of the bowl into the egg yolks while beating on high speed.
- Whip egg yolk mixture: Continue beating at high speed until mixture increases in volume and cools to room temperature.
- Add nuts and raisins: Fold the chopped roasted nuts and chopped raisins gently into the cooled egg yolk mixture.
- Whip cream: In a separate clean bowl, whip the cold cream until foamy and glossy but not fully stiff.
- Combine mixtures: Using folding motions, gently fold the whipped cream into the egg yolk and nut mixture to combine.
- Freeze: Pour the semifreddo mixture into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and freeze for at least 8 hours until firm.
- Unmold and garnish: Lift semifreddo out of pan using baking paper. Peel away paper from sides and return it inside the pan. Invert onto a serving dish. If no paper lining was used, dip pan briefly in warm water and invert. Garnish with chopped almonds, walnuts, raisins, and dust with icing sugar before serving.
Notes
- Ensure the egg yolk and syrup mixture cools completely to room temperature before adding nuts and cream to prevent melting.
- If skipping raisins, whip cream with 4 tablespoons of icing sugar for sweetness.
- Roasting nuts enhances their flavor and crunch; do not skip this step.
- Line the pan properly with baking paper to make unmolding easier.
- Use a spatula and gentle folding motions to retain airiness in the mixture.
- This semifreddo needs at least 8 hours freezing, so prepare the day before serving.
- For a more intense spice flavor, you can increase cinnamon to 1.5 teaspoons if desired.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 320 kcal
- Sugar: 20 g
- Sodium: 30 mg
- Fat: 25 g
- Saturated Fat: 10 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 13 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 22 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 6 g
- Cholesterol: 210 mg
