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Citrus Semifreddo

If you have always wanted to try making ice cream at home but haven’t wanted to invest in an ice-cream maker, give this recipe a try. Semifreddo is a very rich, creamy dessert, but the lemon juice and limoncello make this one seem very light, despite all the egg yolks and cream.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    8 servings

Ingredients

3/4 cup sugar
8 large egg yolks
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tablespoons limoncello
Pinch of salt
Zest of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 lime
1 cup heavy cream
2 ounces amaretti cookies (about 10 small cookies), crushed

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Spray a 9 x 5 x 3-inch metal loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. Line the pan with plastic wrap, allowing the excess to hang over the ends and sides.

    Step 2

    Whisk 1/2 cup of the sugar, the egg yolks, lemon juice, lime juice, limoncello, and salt in a large metal bowl to blend. Stir in the zests. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (do not allow the bottom of the bowl to touch the water). Whisk the egg mixture until it is thick and creamy, and a thermometer inserted into the mixture registers 160°F, about 5 minutes. Set the bowl of custard into another bowl of ice water to cool completely.

    Step 3

    Using an electric mixer, beat the cream and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in another large bowl until firm peaks form. Using a large rubber spatula, gently fold the whipped cream into the custard. Spoon the mixture into the prepared loaf pan. Fold the overhanging plastic wrap over the custard and freeze until frozen, at least 8 hours or up to 3 days.

    Step 4

    Unfold the plastic wrap. Invert the semifreddo onto a platter and peel off the plastic wrap. Cut the semifreddo into 1-inch-thick slices, sprinkle with the cookie crumbs, and serve.

Reprinted with permission from Giada's Kitchen: New Italian Favorites by Giada De Laurentiis. Copyright © 2008 by Giada De Laurentiis. Published by Crown Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved. Giada De Laurentiis is the star of Food Network's Everyday Italian and Behind the Bash. She attended the Cordon Bleu in Paris, and then worked in a variety of Los Angeles restaurants, including Wolfgang Puck's Spago, before starting her own catering and private-chef company, GDL Foods. The granddaughter of movie producer Dino De Laurentiis, Giada was born in Rome and grew up in Los Angeles, where she now lives.
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