Espresso & Toasted Almond Semifreddo

made by Jennie on July 15, 2012 67 comments »

It’s here, #icecreamweek is finally here! I hope you have your expandable pants ready, because I’m knee deep in Espresso & Toasted Almond Semifreddo, and I’m going to need help eating it. Who’s in?

It’s also Sunday, which means it’s time to celebrate another #SundaySupper. The theme this week is “Beat the Heat.” I don’t know what the weather is like in your neck of the woods, but it’s hot Baltimore. Big, frizzy hair, upper lip sweat hot. That’s hot! So, we’re making meals that require little effort and no oven.

Did know that July is National Ice Cream Month? Jen from Juanita’s Cocina, Carla from Chocolate Moosey, and I decided to celebrate this glorious food holiday with an entire week of the cold stuff. That’s 21 different ice cream recipes. Wowza!

I made an espresso and toasted almond semifreddo to kick off this scoop-filled, caramel-drizzled, cherry-topped week of frozen deliciousness.

This Espresso & Toasted Almond Semifreddo is delicious and extremely easy to make. The hardest part is whisking the egg yolks over simmering water until they become thick. I promise you that the 10 minutes of whisking is completely worth the effort.

You’re going to want to whisk the egg yolks until they become thick and the mixture doubles in size. The process took me exactly 10 minutes.

It was hard to wait the four hours this dessert takes to chill. I did cheat and take a little nibble before I placed it in the freezer. Oh my, was it good. I just wanted to forget freezing it and eat it by the spoonfuls directly out of the bowl I mixed it in.

This semifreddo is a coffee lovers dream come true. It has a nice bold coffee flavor without overwhelming the dish. It’s smooth, creamy, and light. I proceeded to eat this as soon as I was finished photographing it. Yum!

Gone!

Print Recipe

Espresso & Toasted Almond Semifreddo

Yield: 6 servings

Total Time: 4 hours 15 minutes

Prep Time: 4 hours

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tbs. plus 1 tsp. instant espresso powder, divided
3 tbs. honey
3 tbs. sugar
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup toasted almonds

Directions:

Measure out 1 cup of heavy cream and add 1 tablespoon of instant espresso powder. Whisk to combine. Once dissolved, whip the cream with an electric mixture until medium peaks form. Place in the refrigerator.
Make an ice bath in a large bowl and set aside. Add an inch of water to a medium-sized sauce pan and heat to simmer. In a large heat-proof bowl, add egg yolks, remaining espresso powder, honey, and sugar. Whisk to combine. Set the bowl over the simmering heat (making sure the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl) and whisk constantly until the mixture becomes thick, about 10 minutes.
When the mixture becomes thick, remove from heat and place the bowl in the ice bath. Whisk the mixture until it cools, about 3 minutes. Fold in the whipped cream. Place the mixture in a shallow bowl and top with toasted almonds. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 4 hours to set.

All images and text ©One Sweet Mess.

Whipping up one of my recipes? I wanna know about it! Snap a photo and tag your post with #onesweetmess on Twitter or Instagram. Seeing your creations come to life makes my day!

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67 comments »

Ice Cream

67 Responses to “Espresso & Toasted Almond Semifreddo”

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Baker Street — July 15, 2012 at 6:36 am
Woah! An Espresso Semifreddo?! I don’t think I’ve tried one! I’m ready to trade some of my blueberry cheesecake ice cream for this decadent and luscious treat! :)

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- Jennie replied July 15th, 2012 at 2:15 pm
  
  An, I’m totally up for a trade. Your ice cream looks fabulous!
  
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sunithi — July 15, 2012 at 7:14 am

OOh looks lovely and so simple. Love that it has just 6 ingredients. My husband and oldest love anything coffee flavored so will make this sometime ! Great pics Jen !! Love the coordinated placemat ;)

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Jen @JuanitasCocina — July 15, 2012 at 8:05 am

Happy #IceCreamWeek my dear!

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Renee — July 15, 2012 at 8:56 am

This sounds heavenly! I could dive in with a giant spoon (love coffee flavored desserts).

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Heather @girlichef — July 15, 2012 at 11:07 am

Mmmmm….this sounds magical! I don’t think that would have made it through a whole photo session in front of me ;P . Can’t wait to see all of the ice cream treats coming our way this week.

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Suzi — July 15, 2012 at 11:36 am

This looks really tasty. Espresso and whipping cream, I could go for some of this, yumm.

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Laura @ Family Spice — July 15, 2012 at 12:03 pm

I need to explore this semifreddo kick I see going on. This looks beyond amazing!

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diabeticFoodie — July 15, 2012 at 12:11 pm

I’ve never tried to make semifreddo. Looks cool and refreshing!

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Cindys Recipes — July 15, 2012 at 12:43 pm
Wow what a great combo! All these great ice cream recipes makes me want to go out and buy “fat pants” just in case!

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- Jennie replied July 15th, 2012 at 3:21 pm
  
  If you’re planning on joining us all week, you’ll want to invest in some “fat pants.” Thank you so much!
  
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Chung-Ah | Damn Delicious — July 15, 2012 at 2:48 pm
This is incredibly dreamy! I will definitely be dusting off the ice cream maker and get on this pronto!

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- Jennie replied July 15th, 2012 at 3:20 pm
  
  Chung-Ah, you don’t even need to dust off your ice cream maker because this recipe doesn’t require one. That’s the great thing about semifreddos, they’re easy!
  
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Elizabeth @Mango_Queen — July 15, 2012 at 2:59 pm
This espresso almond semifreddo is superb! Thanks for sharing your Sunday Supper!

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- Jennie replied July 15th, 2012 at 3:20 pm
  
  Thank you, Elizabeth. Come back tomorrow for a very special ice cream treat.
  
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Kim @ Treats & Trinkets — July 15, 2012 at 3:26 pm

Okay, I have a confession to make. I have no idea what a semifreddo is. But whatever it is, I want some. Right now. You should come up to Jersey and give me some. The weather’s beautiful up here. ;)

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Jenn and Seth (@HomeSkilletCook) — July 15, 2012 at 4:01 pm
omg i think i have everything to make this! it is fate :)

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- Jennie replied July 15th, 2012 at 4:23 pm
  
  I love when fate happens and it makes everything delicious :)
  
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Paula @ Vintage Kitchen Notes — July 15, 2012 at 5:03 pm
I used to love to make semifreddo because I didn´t have an ice cream machine, now I just love it because it´s great! And this one has favorite ingredients all combined together. I could live on espresso ice cream. Fantastic!

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- Jennie replied July 15th, 2012 at 7:49 pm
  
  I love that semifreddo is light and super smooth and creamy. Thanks!
  
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ellenbcookery — July 15, 2012 at 8:26 pm
Oh my goodness! This is heavenly!

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- Jennie replied July 16th, 2012 at 8:42 am
  
  Thanks, Ellen! It tastes heavenly. All smooth and creamy. Yum!
  
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Michelle — July 15, 2012 at 10:11 pm
okay this is getting dangerous…. easy ice cream! ;)

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- Jennie replied July 16th, 2012 at 8:41 am
  
  Easy peasy! Soon you’ll have loads of semifreddo in your freezer.
  
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Jamie (Mama.Mommy.Mom) — July 15, 2012 at 10:24 pm

That looks delicious and sounds very easy!

Jamie @ http://www.mamamommymom.com

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The Mom Chef — July 15, 2012 at 10:45 pm
I will HAVE to make this for Hubby! Coffee ice cream is his favorite and it just looks so amazingly creamy. This one will definitely beat the heat.

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- Jennie replied July 16th, 2012 at 8:41 am
  
  Thank you so much. It totally beats the heat and it’s a coffee lover’s dream come true.
  
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Kim Bee — July 15, 2012 at 10:52 pm
Oh my gosh this is gorgeous. I’ll be right over to help you polish it off.

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- Jennie replied July 16th, 2012 at 8:40 am
  
  Yes, please come over and polish it off. I’m going to need all the help I can get.
  
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  - Kim Bee replied July 16th, 2012 at 6:21 pm
    
    Lol, I need to start half batching my ice creams and desserts. Less to tempt me.
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Dorothy at ShockinglyDelicious — July 16, 2012 at 8:59 am

WOW does that look delicious!
Want.
Now.

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Carla — July 16, 2012 at 9:01 am

Oh my this is beautiful! I still don’t know what exactly makes a semifreddo compared to ice cream, but I’m in! This replaces your morning cup of coffee right?

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Soni — July 16, 2012 at 9:22 am

Wow, it looks so so delicious!!I’ve never made semifreddo but might try it now :)

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Karen Hartzell — July 16, 2012 at 9:23 am

OMY! This looks so delicious! Love coffee flavors in most anything.

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CJ at Food Stories — July 16, 2012 at 9:51 am

Oh no … You’ve done it now … I’m a huge coffee fiend and this look a-maze-balls … You know I’m gonna make it and then I’m gonna make it again, again & again … I blame you already, Jennie :-)

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Susan — July 16, 2012 at 1:33 pm

I don’t drink coffee but hubs is an espresso nut. He will love this!

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Bibi @ Bibi's Culinary Journey — July 16, 2012 at 8:52 pm

Wow, I love all these great beat the heat dishes….and your Semifreddo lloks so tempting:)

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Renee — July 17, 2012 at 12:06 am

I am a big fan of anything with coffee in it. I’m also a big fan of ice cream. And then you added almonds. That’s three strikes, I guess the diet is out!

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Samantha — July 17, 2012 at 2:12 pm

I’ve never tried semifreddo, but you have certainly caught my attention. I love that the recipe doesn’t require an ice cream maker. Congratulations on top 9 and hooray for National Ice Cream Month!

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shannon — July 21, 2012 at 5:30 pm

1. how did you even know i had expandable pants on.
2. i feel just as compelled to make this as i did the lemon buttermilk sherbet. which is AMAZING. I love – LOVE, in a very serious way – coffee ice cream. so this semifreddo? dangerous. in a super good way. and there’s almonds, right? soooooo…healthy. let’s go with that.

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