Chef John's Strawberry Semifreddo recipe

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Ingredients

1 pound fresh strawberries
½ cup white sugar
¾ cup full-fat Greek yogurt
lemon, zested
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
⅛ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon aged balsamic vinegar
1 pinch salt
1 ¾ cups cold heavy cream
6 shortbread cookies
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 ½ cups diced fresh strawberries
2 tablespoons white sugar, or more to taste

Nutrition Info

289.2 calories
carbohydrate: 22.9 g
cholesterol: 70.6 mg
fat: 21.7 g
fiber: 1.5 g
protein: 2.6 g
saturatedFat: 12.8 g
servingSize: -
sodium: 88.3 mg
sugar: 17.3 g
transFat: : -
unsaturatedFat: : -

Directions

  1. Line 10 ramekins with plastic wrap and place them onto a baking sheet.

  2. Hull strawberries with the tip of a knife. Place strawberries in a food processor. Add sugar, Greek yogurt, lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle in a tiny pinch of salt. Pulse on and off to combine, finish pureeing on high until smooth.

  3. Whisk heavy cream in a bowl until soft peaks form. Add the strawberry puree. Stir and fold with a spatula until most of the major streaks disappear. Fill ramekins 1/4 to 1/8 inch from the top with the strawberry mixture. Tap baking sheet against the counter to settle the tops. Cover ramekins in plastic wrap and freeze until mostly firm, about 1 1/2 hours.

  4. Meanwhile, place cookies in a resealable plastic bag. Seal, crush cookies through with a rolling pin to get 1 1/2 cups of crumbs. Place crumbs into a bowl, add butter and mix well.

  5. Divide the cookie crumb mixture among the ramekins and smooth out with the back of a spoon. Cover again and freeze until completely frozen, about 2 hours.

  6. Toss diced strawberries with sugar in a bowl. Let rest at room temperature until a syrup forms below the strawberries, about 1 hour.

  7. Warm up each ramekin in your hands to help unmold the semifreddo, invert onto a plate. Top with the strawberries in syrup. Thaw for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Recipe Yield

10 5 1/2-ounce ramekins

Recipe Note

My lighter, no-cook adaptation of semifreddo skips the traditional egg custard and cuts down on fat, sugar, and time. It just so happens to be lighter, with a cleaner, more distinct berry flavor and a texture that's less creamy than classic semifreddo, falling somewhere between strawberry ice cream and a strawberry ice pop.

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