Dark chocolate semifreddo

This time, Miriam, author of El Invitado de Invierno , brings us a recipe that you will love : it is a semifreddo with the most addictive ingredient there can be: chocolate! In addition, this semifreddo is one of the easiest to prepare, so we encourage you to try it... and enjoy!

A semifreddo … Do you know what it is and why it is called that? Well, it is a frozen dessert, similar to ice cream, but due to the way it is prepared it does not produce the same sensation of coldness in the mouth , hence its graphic name.

What differentiates semifreddo from ice cream is that more air is introduced into the mixture beforehand, either with a meringue, a sabayon, or by whipping the cream. There are even semifreddos that have these three components, what a display of means.

For this reason, it does not need to be churned/beaten like ice cream (the many air bubbles limit the size of the ice crystals); it freezes directly and without anesthesia, and always turns out well.

This dark chocolate semifreddo only has whipped cream as a foaming element, making it one of the simplest semifreddos we can prepare . But it won't disappoint you. Among other things, because it's very chocolatey...

Textured plate by Tokyo Design and Emile Henry dessert plates

Ingredients

• 285gr of 70% cocoa chocolate
• 240ml whole milk
• 5 egg yolks
• 100gr of sugar
• 1 pinch of salt
• 360ml liquid cream (minimum 35% fat)
• Additional whipped cream to serve

Elaboration

1. We line a rectangular mould with plastic wrap ( the Birkmann one is a good option). We set it aside.
2. Place the chopped chocolate in a large bowl (in which we will make the final mixture) and place a strainer over it. Set aside.
3. In a saucepan (if it has a pouring spout like this one, it always helps to transfer the contents later) put the yolks, sugar, salt and milk. Mix well with a whisk .
4. We put the saucepan on a very low heat and heat it up, stirring constantly , so that the yolk doesn't set at any point. If we have a probe thermometer , it's easy to check the setting, which occurs at 72°-73°. If we don't have one, we do it like our grandmothers do: when the cream covers the back of a wooden spoon and a groove remains when you run your finger through it.
5. Be careful, what happens if the cream curdles? If we mix it carefully, it shouldn't happen, but if we are unlucky, we should immediately add a splash of cold cream and beat it with a hand mixer . It doesn't turn out exactly the same, but it serves our purpose.
6. We immediately pour the hot, thickened cream over the strainer and the chocolate that we had in the bowl. We help with a silicone spatula to get all the cream through, pressing on the strainer and scraping the bottom.
7. Stir the cream with the chocolate until everything is integrated. Let it cool to room temperature.
8. Then we whip the cream, which should be very cold , until it forms soft peaks. It should not be completely hard because it is much more difficult to mix it with the chocolate cream.
9. We add the cream to the custard , never the other way around as the chocolate could solidify too quickly, and we mix with a spatula and gentle, enveloping movements, although with a certain speed.
10. Pour the mixture into the previously prepared mold , cover with more plastic and place the mold in the freezer for at least one night.
11. When serving the semifreddo, unmold it onto a serving dish and let it cool for 5 minutes. You can decorate the portions with some additional whipped cream.

Birkmann rectangular non-stick mould and Emile Henry dessert plates

Although it is not the most common, this dark chocolate semifreddo can also be used to form ice cream balls to put on wafer cones or even make ice cream sandwiches with square wafers. Try all the methods and choose the one that suits you best…