When I first posted this recipe on Instagram, I was hopelessly trying to find an emoji that best matched the delicious taste of this iced dessert. When I made this for the TV show Chryses Syntages, our show producer couldn’t stop until he ate half of this loaf. And when I made it as a birthday cake for my dad’s 94th birthday, my whole family (the toughest judges!) gave me raving reviews including my father who rarely eats dessert. Not convinced yet? Let me tell you then that it’s so easy to prepare, your kid could make it!
Mocha Semifreddo
One of the easiest desserts EVER and one of the best. It really is one with the WOW factor. Plus, it keeps in the freezer adn all you have to do is slice and serve with some extra chocolate sauce. Make it please.
Ingredients
- 160 grams butter cookies or digestives
- ½ cup roasted almonds coarsely ground
- 100 grams Philadelphia style cream cheese
- 400 grams sweetened condensed milk
- 3 Tbsp instant coffee granules
- 3 Tbsp hot water
- 500 ml whipping cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the chocolate ganache
- 250 grams bittersweet chocolate
- 250 ml whipping cream
- 1-2 Tbsp coffee liqueur or cognac
Instructions
- To roast the almonds spread on a baking sheet and bake in a 175° C oven for 6-8 minutes. Cool slightly and then chop them roughly in a mini-chopper. Don’t turn them into powder. You want to feel the nuts in the semifreddo.
- Crush the cookies in a mini chopper or food processor. It’s ok if some larger pieces remain. Set aside in a bowl until needed.
- Make the chocolate ganache by heating the cream in a small saucepan. Put chocolate in a heatproof bowl and pour over it the hot cream. Let it stand for 5 minutes. Mix until chocolate has melted completely and mixture is smooth. Set aside until needed.
- Put coffee granules in a mug or small bowl. Add the hot water and stir to dissolve.
- In a large bowl, whip together the condensed milk with the cream cheese. Mix in the dissolved coffee.
- In a mixer bowl whip cream and vanilla to soft peaks. Fold whipped cream in the milk/cheese/coffee mixture. Mix until you have a smooth coffee cream.
- Time to assemble the semifreddo: Line the base and sides of a wet loaf pan with plastic wrap, leaving some hanging from the sides.
- Spread the base with about 4 tablespoons of the coffee cream. Layer will be thin.
- Sprinkle cream with 4 tablespoons of the cookie crumbs and about 3 tablespoons of the nuts. Pour over 1/3 of the chocolate ganache. Top with spoonfuls of about half of the coffee cream.
- Repeat process: 1. Four tablespoons cookie crumbs, 2. Three tablespoons almonds, 3. 1/3 of the chocolate ganache, 4. Coffee cream
- Finish with a layer of cookie crumbs. Cover with the overhanging plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 24 hours.
- To serve, run a warm cloth on the outside of the loaf pan. Unfold the plastic wrap and invert on a platter. Remove the pan and plastic. Pour over chocolate ganache and serve.
Notes
To refreeze, cover it again with plastic wrap (don’t worry if it touches the ganache) and place the loaf pan it was previously frozen in, on top. Invert again so that the ice cream re-inverts in the loaf pan. Cover again and freeze.
Alternatively you can just cover it with plastic and place in the freezer with the serving platter. However, the freezer might “burn” the dessert in places, if not properly stored in a container (thus the loaf pan)
