Lemon and Chocolate Semifreddo

This delicious half-frozen dessert is among the best Italian sweets you can make at home. It is creamy and tasty , with velvety texture. A perfect combination between lemon and chocolate that is worth trying!

What kind of dessert is that

Semifreddo was one of the multiple Italian desserts I fell in love with from the first bite. When it was offered to me in a cozy countryside Trattoria, I was totally clueless what kind of dessert it could be.

Afterwards I learned that it was a typical frozen dessert, different than gelato or ice cream. The literal translation of semifreddo is "half cold": most probably because it is consumed after staying at room temperature for several minutes.

Recipe specifics

This otherwise fantastic dessert has one little problem: the original recipe calls for raw eggs. And one thing I am not willing to do is to offer to my audience recipes that might not be 100% safe to eat. For that reason I tried to fix the problem in the only possible way: to cook the eggs while beating them.

I found these instructions very helpful and followed them mostly. Eventually I made a semifreddo that was not too sweet but very smooth and tasty. Mmmm, I think I have to make a new one pretty soon.

What ingredients you need

For this recipe you need just simple ingredients that you can easily find in the stores around you:

• egg whites and yolks
• whipping cream
• lemon zest & juice
• limoncello: this is an Italian liqueur with a nice lemony taste. You can alternatively skip it by adding some more lemon juice and zest.
• nutella
• sugar

Find the complete list of ingredients and their quantities below the post, in the recipe card!

Preparation summary

To make the semifreddo, you need to make three separate mixtures and combine them. These are:

Lemon Zabaglione: made of the egg yolks, sugar and the lemon juice, extract and limoncello. You need to whisk them on a double boiler until the mixture thickens.

Egg whites: again beaten on a double boiler

Whipped cream

After preparing the three mixtures, make sure their temperatures are more or less equalised, before combining them.

I really hope you would like my semifreddo! If you made it, please share in the comments your experience!

If you like Italian-style desserts, check out also the following ones:

• Easy Strawberry Charlotte
• Tiramisu without eggs and alcohol
• Raffaello Cake (Almond Coconut Cake)
• No Bake Amaretto Cheesecake

📝 Recipe