Lemon Blueberry Semifreddo

This lemon blueberry semifreddo is a sweet and airy frozen dessert beginning with a lemony vanilla base and filled with roasted blueberries. 

Take advantage of fresh blueberry season and try this classic Italian dessert, semifreddo. 

The term semifreddo means "semi-cold" or "semi-frozen." While the dessert is truly frozen, the "semi" is because the dessert has a very fluffy and mousse-like texture, lighter and softer than ice cream. Amazingly, it doesn't seem to melt as fast as ice cream. 

It's a wonderful choice for a summertime dinner party and can be made well in advance, perfect for freeing up your time for the rest of the meal. Easy and elegant! It's the little black dress of summer desserts. 

To Make Semifreddo:

Unlike with ice creams, sherbets, or gelato, you don't need an ice cream machine to make semifreddo. It's actually pretty much the original no churn ice cream, but instead of being scooped into a bowl, it is molded in a loaf pan, frozen, and then sliced. 

In a nutshell, it is a combination of vanilla-flavored whipped cream that is folded with an egg and sugar mixture that has been cooked to 160 degrees F over a double boiler and then whipped until it is frothy, thickened, and pale. 

For this blueberry version, gently fold in roasted blueberries and freeze. 

Instead of the roasted blueberries, you can use this base for any flavors you like, including melted chocolate, berries, candied nuts, stone fruit, preserves, and dessert sauces. Just omit the lemon zest and stir the additions into the mixture before freezing. 

In this case, I've also included a Graham cracker crust on the bottom of the loaf as well as more roasted blueberries for topping the semifreddo. If you like, you can skip the crust. 

Ingredients for this Semifreddo:

Heavy whipping cream

Eggs

Vanilla

Salt

Granulated sugar

Lemon zest

2 pounds of fresh blueberries for roasting. I first roasted blueberries to make roasted blueberry pull-apart bread and it was amazing. 

Tools You May Need:

A Hand or Stand Mixer: I typically love using my stand mixer, but I brought out my hand mixer for this recipe. First, it required less cleaning. Second, it required me to watch the ingredients closely to prevent over mixing, especially with whipping the cream. You definitely can't walk away. 

An Instant Read Thermometer: This tool is super helpful for knowing when the egg and sugar mixture has reached the temperature where the eggs are cooked enough and are ready for mixing without turning them into scrambled eggs. I love mine and use it daily. 

An 8 1/2 inch by 4 1/2 inch metal loaf pan: You can use a glass pan, but a metal pan is better for fast freezing and better release of the frozen semifreddo for serving. 

You can also use this recipe to make 6 individual semifreddos by using ramekins or mini springform pans. If you use ramekins, just line the dishes with plastic wrap to lift out the frozen desserts for serving. 

Make Ahead:

You can prepare the blueberries and Graham Cracker crust a day in advance. 

Plus, you can make and freeze this dessert up to 6 weeks in advance as long as it is well-wrapped. Just be sure to prepare only half of the roasted blueberries to incorporate in the semifreddo, and make the topping when you are ready to serve. 

A few tricks for releasing the semifreddo from the bread pan: 

Remove it from the freezer and let it sit at room temperature for 5 minutes and then run a thin knife around the sides of the pan on the outside of the parchment paper. 

Use your hands to warm up the corners of the semifreddo and then lift the dessert from the pan by the overhanging parchment. One you've place it on a tray or plate, you can slide the parchment out from under the semifreddo. 

I hope you try this light and refreshing Italian frozen dessert soon! It's sooooo good! 

Lemon Blueberry Semifreddo

Yield: 8 slices

Author: Karen's Kitchen Stories

Prep time: 1 HourCook time: 1 HourInactive time: 6 HourTotal time: 8 Hour

This lemon blueberry semifreddo is is a sweet and airy frozen dessert beginning with a lemony vanilla base and filled with roasted blueberries.

Ingredients

For the Roasted Blueberries

• 2 pounds fresh blueberries
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

For the Graham Cracker Crust

• 67 grams (3/4 cup) finely ground Graham Cracker crumbs
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

For the Semifreddo

• 1 1/2 cups cold heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 2 large room temperature eggs
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar

Instructions

To Make the Roasted Blueberries

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Spread the blueberries over a parchment lined baking sheet and toss with the sugar.
3. Roast the blueberries for 35 to 40 minutes, stirring them halfway through.
4. Let the blueberries cool on the pan and then scrape them into a bowl, cover, and chill up to 24 hours, until ready to use.

To Make the Graham Cracker Crust

1. Line the bread pan with parchment paper with a 2 inch over hang on all sides. You should have one wider piece going widthwise, and one narrow piece going lengthwise.
2. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
3. Combine the Graham Cracker crumbs, butter, and sugar, and press it into the bottom of the pan, on top of the parchment.
4. Bake the crust for 10 minutes. Let cool and then freeze the pan with the crust in it until ready to fill with the semifreddo.

To Make the Semifreddo

1. In a large bowl, beat the cold heavy cream, vanilla, salt, and zest with a hand mixer on medium high speed until you have stiff peaks, about 3 to 4 minutes.
2. Place the bowl in the refrigerator while you make the egg mixture.
3. Whisk the eggs and sugar together in a medium heat-proof bowl. Bring a small saucepan with about 2 inches of water to a simmer. Place the bowl over the pan, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water. Cook, whisking regularly, until the sugar dissolves and the eggs reach 160 degrees F.
4. Remove the bowl from the heat and beat with a hand mixer with medium high speed for about 5 minutes, until the egg mixture is pale and thick and reaches a ribbony consistency. The mixture should have cooled to room temperature.
5. Fold the egg mixture into the cream mixture until there are no streaks.
6. Add half of the blueberry mixture and stir once or twice until barely swirled. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan, wrap with plastic wrap, and freeze overnight.
7. When ready to serve, lift the semifreddo out of the pan using the parchment paper overhang, slice, top with the rest of the blueberries, and serve.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

377

Fat (grams)

23 g

Sat. Fat (grams)

14 g

Carbs (grams)

42 g

Fiber (grams)

3 g

Net carbs

39 g

Sugar (grams)

32 g

Protein (grams)

4 g

Cholesterol (grams)

108 mg

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2024/07/lemon-blueberry-semifreddo.html

Karen's Kitchen Stories

semifreddo, blueberries

dessert

Italian

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Recipe adapted from Bake From Scratch Magazine, July/August 2024. If you love baking, you will love this magazine. I've been a subscriber for years and I listen to their podcast too. 

 

Welcome to this year’s #SummerDessertWeek event hosted by Angie from Big Bear’s Wife. We've got 15 spectacular bloggers creating summer-themed dessert recipes that we're going to be sharing with you all week! You can find them on our blogs (some of those recipe links posted in this post) and on social media with the hashtag #SummerDessertWeek.

Check out Monday's Recipes:

Shark Sugar Cookies from Hezzi-D's Recipes Box

Mixed Fruit Dump Cake from A Day in the Life on the Farm

S'mores Brownies from Jolene's Recipe Journal

Lemon Blueberry Semifreddo from Karen's Kitchen Stories

White Chocolate Raspberry Mousse from Blogghetti

Grape Popsicle Jello Mold from Sweet ReciPEAs

Strawberry Upside Down Cake from Cheese Curd In Paradise

Peanut Butter Banana Icebox Cake from A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures

Christmas Tree Cake Cupcakes from It's Shanaka

Summer Rice Krispie Treat S'mores from For the Love of Food

Blueberry Corn Cookies from The Spiffy Cookie