Tiramisu Semifreddo

I love semifreddos and I love tiramisu. On New year’s eve that I had made a tiramisu along with the chocolate terrine, I had bought too much mascarpone and savoiardi, so, I found the perfect recipe to use them. A tiramisu semifreddo! It is very cold here the last days (-15 to -30^oC), but it didn’t prevent me from making it. I love everything that has to do with ice cream no matter the weather.

The recipe that I used, is adapted from Leila Lindholm’s recipe. Because I’m a little scared of raw eggs I whisked them on a bain-marie to pasteurize them. If you are not scared of them or you are sure about them you can just whisk them in a bowl.(the yolks in one bowl and the whites in another).So, here is the recipe:

Tiramisu Semifreddo

Recipe adapted from here

4 eggs

250 ml (1 cup) whipping cream (36% fat)

250 g (9 oz) mascarpone cheese

125 g (3/4 cup) sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla sugar

3/4 cup amaretto

12 savoiardi biscuits

1 cup espresso (2 espresso lungo)

cocoa to sprinkle

a little vinegar

Make the espresso and let it get cold. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites. Put some vinegar on a kitchen paper and apply it on the bowl that you are going to put the egg whites, so that you make sure there is no fat in the bowl.  Place the egg yolks with half of the sugar and the vanilla sugar in a heatproof bowl. Place it over a pan of shimmering water and beat them using a hand-mixer for about 6 minutes or until thick and pale. Remove from the heat and let it cool slightly. In a big bowl beat the cream until stiff peaks form. Fold the egg mixture in the whipped cream.

Place the rest of the sugar in the egg whites and beat them over a pan with shimmering water until the sugar dissolves. You can test if the sugar is dissolved by putting a small amount between your fingers. Remove from heat and beat until it becomes cold and it has turn to a meringue. That means, if you turn it upside down it stays where it is. Fold the meringue carefully in the egg yolk mixture.

In another bowl beat the mascarpone with ½ cup of the amaretto and fold it with the egg mixture. You will now have a fluffy cream.

In a deep plate put the cold espresso with the rest of the amaretto.

Line a loaf pan with plastic wrap and let hang on the sides. Pour some of the cream about 1/3 of it. Take 6 of the savoiardi and dip one biscuit at a time in the coffee mixture both sides for 1-2 seconds. Place a layer of biscuits over the cream in the pan and pour over some more cream. Repeat with the rest of the savoiardi and pour over the rest of the cream. Cover with the plastic wrap that is hanging on the sides and some aluminium foil and put in the freezer. It will be ready after 3-4 hours. When you want to serve take it out of the freezer, leave it in room temperature for 5-10 minutes, turn it over on a serving plate and sprinkle with cocoa. Cut in slices and eat as it is or if you want pour over some chocolate syrup.

Makes one loaf pan. I used a 20 x 10 cm loaf pan and there was an amount of mixture left. If you have mixture left you can put it in bowls with some more savoiardi and make small tiramisu or all the mixture in another bowl or pan and put it in the freezer.