Vanilla Semifreddo

Summer and vanilla ice cream go hand-in-hand. It’s the cool and creamy relief you need to make it through this sweltering season. Perhaps you’ve given churning your own ice cream a try, learned how to make it without a machine, or resolved to buy this sweet treat from the store (these are our favorite supermarket vanilla ice creams). But have you tried making semifreddo yet? This four-ingredient frozen dessert is everything you love about ice cream, but it’s easier and more sophisticated than your standard ice cream cone. 

Semifreddo is Italian for “half-cold” or “half-frozen.” Akin to ice cream, it’s a dessert that is light and creamy, but because it is not churned, it does not require an ice cream maker. Semifreddo is easy to make — especially if you’ve got a stand or electric hand mixer. Once frozen, it melts like a dream on your tongue. Learn how simple it is to turn just a few ingredients into sweet and creamy slices of semifreddo. 

• You need just four ingredients. Heavy cream, eggs, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract (plus some salt) come together to make a light and creamy frozen dessert.
• Customize with your favorite flavors. Fruit, toasted nuts, crushed cookies, dulce de leche, or chocolate chips can be folded in or spooned over top. 

• Heavy cream: Whip heavy cream to stiff peaks. There’s no need to add sugar, as this fluffy cream will be folded into the sweetened egg mixture. 
• Eggs: Gently heat the eggs with sugar and salt over simmering water to cook the egg without scrambling it. 
• Granulated sugar: Sugar sweetens the semifreddo, and keeps the dessert from developing an icy consistency while protecting and stabilizing the whipped egg. 
• Vanilla extract: When the ingredient list is this short, make sure to use the best quality you can — like pure vanilla extract instead of imitation. Add 1 full tablespoon, as its flavors can be more muted when cold. 

1. Make whipped cream. Start with cold heavy cream so that it easily whips to stiff peaks. (Here are even more whipped cream tips and tricks.)
2. Heat the eggs and sugar. Whisk the eggs, sugar, and salt constantly over a pot of simmering water (aka double boiler). It’s ready when the sugar is completely dissolved, the temperature reaches 165°F on an instant-read thermometer, and the eggs are pale yellow and foamy. (Ta da! You’ve essentially made Italian zabaglione!) 
3. Whip the eggs. Whip air into the egg-sugar mixture to aerate and cool it simultaneously, just as you would when making Swiss meringue.
4. Fold in the whipped cream. Use a gentle folding motion to incorporate the cold whipped cream into the cooled egg mixture without deflating it.
5. Freeze until firm. A metal pan efficiently conducts the cold so that the delicate semifreddo freezes fast, but a glass or ceramic dish will work too. 
6. Top and serve. You can add a fruity topping like strawberry glaze or raspberry sauce just before serving to give a nice contrast to the creamy vanilla semifreddo.

• Plastic wrap for parchment. I prefer to use parchment paper to line the loaf pan for a slightly less wrinkled appearance and easy removal from the semifreddo. You can also line the pan with plastic wrap if you’ve run out of parchment paper. 
• Alternate extracts. Substitute lemon, mint, or almond extract for a portion of the vanilla extract.
• Play with the toppings. The possibilities to personalize this vanilla semifreddo are endless. While I’ve suggested two fruity toppings, you can go with nuts, chocolate, or even crushed cookies. 

Semifreddo is best when eaten within three days. Store it in the freezer, and keep it away from the door, as frequent opening and closing of the freezer can cause the semifreddo to melt and refreeze, resulting in an icy consistency.

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