Neapolitan semifreddo

Neapolitan semifreddo

Made with crushed fruit, pure vanilla and 70 per cent chocolate, this is a posh version of a childhood favourite

Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Serves 6 - 8

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 45 mins

Cook time

Cook 10 mins

Vegetarian Freezable

Vegetarian

Method

  1. Lightly oil then line a 900g loaf tin (about 11cm x 22 cm when measured across the top) with clingfilm, leaving plenty of overhang. Put the caster sugar in a pan with 4 tbsp water, then heat very gently until it has completely dissolved. Turn up the heat and boil for 2 minutes.
  2. As the sugar comes up to temperature, whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks in a separate bowl. When the hot syrup is ready, carefully pour it into the egg whites a little at a time, with the beaters still running, whisking until it has all been mixed in. Beat for 2 minutes to cool, then set aside. The mix should look like shaving foam.
  3. Softly whip the cream and vanilla seeds in another bowl. Fold the cream into the whites, in three goes, to make the ice cream base. Split the mix three ways, making one batch a little smaller than the others.
  4. Blend the berries and icing sugar until smooth. Pass through a sieve onto the smaller batch of ice cream, then fold in until evenly pink. Spoon into the lined tin, level it, then cover the surface with a rectangle of baking parchment. Freeze for 30 minutes or until just firm.
  5. Remove the paper and spoon over a layer of plain vanilla mix. Again, level, cover and freeze. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in the microwave or over a pan of simmering water, then leave until cool but still runny.
  6. Fold the chocolate into the final third of the ice cream. Layer it and freeze, again covering the top with a clean piece of paper.
  7. Freeze for 3-4 hours or overnight before serving, and give the semifreddo 10 minutes or so out of the freezer to soften a little before turning out to slice.

Per serving

715 kcalories, protein 4.1g, carbohydrate 43.9g, fat 59.3 g, saturated fat 32.8g, fibre 1.5g, salt 0.13 g

Recipe from olive magazine, July 2010.

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Latest comments and suggestions

  • Binder photo PumpkinBear

    25 June 2010

    PumpkinBear rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I made 2 of these the other day. I've made ice cream before (from a proper custard base) and I must say that this comes pretty damn close to a 'proper' ice cream. My favourite was the pink layer whilst my partner loved the chocolate layer (you do have to use 70% or greater chocolate; I used Lindt 70% and it just had a slight bitter edge to it which offset lovely against the sweetness of the pink layer). I froze each layer for around 2 hours each before putting the next layer on top and it turned out perfectly. I checked it after 30 mins as per the instructions but didn't feel that the icy crust that had developed was strong enough to hold anohter layer without collapsing so left it for 2 hours to thoroughly freeze. I will be making this again (in fact I will be making this weekend as I have a glut of strawberries to use up and am bored with making cheesecakes!)

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  • Binder photo cherrytree

    20 July 2010

    cherrytree commented on this recipe

    A really great recipe and really spectacular. Just two things to consider though. As the other poster said, it needs longer between freezing each layer-I agree about two hours, and it needs longer than ten minutes when removed from the freezer so that it slices satisfactorily.

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  • Binder photo knickers

    31 July 2010

    knickers commented on this recipe

    i was so pleased i tried this , at first i thought it looked complicated, but to be honest it isnt, its just processes, and waiting time between freezings. it was absolutely divine, my b/f and i polished off the whole lot in one sitting ! he was soo impressed, and the taste was sweet , bitter, refreshing all good- will definitely do again if you want to impress someone ! would be great for a dinner party as can be done in advance and looks so impressive.

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  • Binder photo knickers

    31 July 2010

    knickers rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo Lineg

    11 August 2010

    Lineg rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Beautiful! I did risk adding the other layers after 30 miunutes and this did work and the structure did not collapse. I would however recommend longer, maybe an hour before adding the final layer as the centre layer wasn't as icy as it could have been.

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  • Binder photo mother*ship

    23 August 2010

    mother*ship rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Delicious and impressive! Mine didn't look quite as perfect as the picture, mainly because my chocolate didn't mix into the cream smoothly (probably because I'd put the cream mixture in the fridge). I turned the freezer up and added the extra layers after just the 30 mins stated and it was absolutely fine.

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  • Binder photo bess2001

    30 June 2012

    bess2001 rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    i made this last week and like some of the others i also found that leaving it for 30 mins was not enought to set enough for the next layer. I left it an hour between each layer and it turned out perfect. Its absolutely delicious and i will be making it again this week to have in my freezer as a stand by. Its my first attempt at " ice cream " and i am delighted with the way it turned out. Since ive joined this site i try to make different desserts every week and can honestly say that everything i have made has turned out the way it should have, so thank you BBC Good Food for all these fantastic recipes

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Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Serves 6 - 8

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 45 mins

Cook time

Cook 10 mins

Vegetarian Freezable

Vegetarian

Ingredients

  • vegetable oil or other flavourless oil for the tin
  • 175g caster sugar
  • 2 large egg whites
  • 600ml pot double cream
  • 1 vanilla pod , seeds scraped out
  • 200g ripe strawberries , plus more to serve
  • 100g raspberries , plus more to serve
  • 1 tbsp icing sugar
  • 75g dark chocolate (70% cocoa)
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Per serving

715 kcalories, protein 4.1g, carbohydrate 43.9g, fat 59.3 g, saturated fat 32.8g, fibre 1.5g, salt 0.13 g

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