For a recent cousins' barbeque that Tom and I hosted at our house, I decided to make a tangerine semifreddo with salted almond brittle. I wanted something that would be cold and refreshing -- and the fact that it could also be made in advance was a big plus.
The first step in the recipe is to make the almond brittle. You cook sugar, corn syrup, water, and salt until the mixture reaches 330-340 degrees. Then you take the caramel off of the heat and add butter, baking soda, and chopped almonds. Your pour the mixture onto a baking sheet (I didn't butter the sheet but lined it with parchment instead), spread the brittle out into an even layer, and let it cool. You are supposed to sprinkle flaked sea salt over the top while the brittle is hot, but I accidentally forgot to do this step. After the brittle was cooled, I broke off large pieces, put them in a Ziploc bag, and bashed the bag with a straight rolling pin to crush the brittle into smaller chunks.
When I made this dessert back in May, it wasn't really tangerine season. But I could still get some juicy and delicious Gold Nugget mandarins. To make the semifreddo, I cooked egg yolks, sugar, mandarin zest, and mandarin juice in a double boiler until the mixture reached 160 degrees. Then I placed the bowl with the egg yolk mixture inside a larger bowl filled with ice water, and I whisked the mixture by hand until it was cooled and thick. Then I folded in egg whites that had been beaten with sugar to stiff peaks, followed by whipped cream.
I had prepared a large loaf pan for this recipe by lining it with parchment paper. I poured in a layer of the semifreddo mixture; sprinkled on 3/4 cup of brittle pieces; and then followed up with more semifreedo, more brittle, and more semifreddo. I filled my loaf pan (which is longer than most -- it measures 10 inches by 5 inches) all the way to the top and I still had enough semifreddo mixture left over to fill a mini loaf pan. I stuck the pans in the freezer overnight.
This recipe also includes a tangerine sauce -- and while I fully intended to make it, I just lost track of time the following day and ended up skipping it. (In my defense, I was busy making vegetable sides -- and I can say that I would highly recommend all of them: Huckleberry's roasted carrots with avocado; corn and zucchini salad with feta; and Thai celery salad with peanuts.) To serve the semifreddo, I just pulled it out of the pan (the parchment paper made this easy) and used a sharp knife to cut it into slices.
I felt a little guilty about serving it unaccompanied with any sauce or garnish, but as it turns out, it didn't need a thing -- it was absolutely perfect as is. There was a generous amount of brittle adding tons of crunch and flavor -- and even though I had neglected to sprinkle salt onto the brittle, it was plenty salty thanks to the salt in the brittle mixture itself. I loved the bright and clean flavor of the mandarins. The semifreddo had a light and smooth texture and the dessert was reminiscent of a creamsicle. This really was a beautiful and refreshing dessert to follow a casual spring meal.
We had a lot semifreddo left over even after consuming eight servings at the barbeque. My husband Tom and I enjoyed eating the leftovers during the following week. Even though the recipe warns that the brittle will become soft it you make the dessert more than two days ahead, we didn't experience this problem; the brittle stayed nice and crunchy through an entire week.
I liked this dessert so much that I decided to serve it at our Muscaday party -- although by the time that Muscaday rolled around, I couldn't even get Gold Nugget mandarins, so I went with oranges instead. For ease of serving, I assembled it in individual 5-ounce clear plastic cups instead of a loaf pan. I got 20 servings this way, and the dessert was a big hit. The recipe also makes way more brittle than you need for the semifreddo, so you can use the extras for a garnish (as I did with my mini semifreddo parfaits at Muscaday) or just snacking -- because the brittle is delicious all on its own.
This semifreddo is a wonderful way to showcase citrus. It might not look like much, but it's just a really lovely dessert all around.
Recipe: "Tangerine Semifreddo with Salted Almond Brittle" from epicurious.com.
Previous Posts:
The first step in the recipe is to make the almond brittle. You cook sugar, corn syrup, water, and salt until the mixture reaches 330-340 degrees. Then you take the caramel off of the heat and add butter, baking soda, and chopped almonds. Your pour the mixture onto a baking sheet (I didn't butter the sheet but lined it with parchment instead), spread the brittle out into an even layer, and let it cool. You are supposed to sprinkle flaked sea salt over the top while the brittle is hot, but I accidentally forgot to do this step. After the brittle was cooled, I broke off large pieces, put them in a Ziploc bag, and bashed the bag with a straight rolling pin to crush the brittle into smaller chunks.
When I made this dessert back in May, it wasn't really tangerine season. But I could still get some juicy and delicious Gold Nugget mandarins. To make the semifreddo, I cooked egg yolks, sugar, mandarin zest, and mandarin juice in a double boiler until the mixture reached 160 degrees. Then I placed the bowl with the egg yolk mixture inside a larger bowl filled with ice water, and I whisked the mixture by hand until it was cooled and thick. Then I folded in egg whites that had been beaten with sugar to stiff peaks, followed by whipped cream.
This recipe also includes a tangerine sauce -- and while I fully intended to make it, I just lost track of time the following day and ended up skipping it. (In my defense, I was busy making vegetable sides -- and I can say that I would highly recommend all of them: Huckleberry's roasted carrots with avocado; corn and zucchini salad with feta; and Thai celery salad with peanuts.) To serve the semifreddo, I just pulled it out of the pan (the parchment paper made this easy) and used a sharp knife to cut it into slices.
I felt a little guilty about serving it unaccompanied with any sauce or garnish, but as it turns out, it didn't need a thing -- it was absolutely perfect as is. There was a generous amount of brittle adding tons of crunch and flavor -- and even though I had neglected to sprinkle salt onto the brittle, it was plenty salty thanks to the salt in the brittle mixture itself. I loved the bright and clean flavor of the mandarins. The semifreddo had a light and smooth texture and the dessert was reminiscent of a creamsicle. This really was a beautiful and refreshing dessert to follow a casual spring meal.
We had a lot semifreddo left over even after consuming eight servings at the barbeque. My husband Tom and I enjoyed eating the leftovers during the following week. Even though the recipe warns that the brittle will become soft it you make the dessert more than two days ahead, we didn't experience this problem; the brittle stayed nice and crunchy through an entire week.
I liked this dessert so much that I decided to serve it at our Muscaday party -- although by the time that Muscaday rolled around, I couldn't even get Gold Nugget mandarins, so I went with oranges instead. For ease of serving, I assembled it in individual 5-ounce clear plastic cups instead of a loaf pan. I got 20 servings this way, and the dessert was a big hit. The recipe also makes way more brittle than you need for the semifreddo, so you can use the extras for a garnish (as I did with my mini semifreddo parfaits at Muscaday) or just snacking -- because the brittle is delicious all on its own.
This semifreddo is a wonderful way to showcase citrus. It might not look like much, but it's just a really lovely dessert all around.
Previous Posts:
- "Creamsicle in Cake Form: Oranges and Cream Cake," August 29, 2014.
- "Baked Sunday Mornings: Milk Chocolate Malt Semifreddo," August 3, 2014.
- "Baked Sunday Mornings: Orange Creamsicle Tart," June 5, 2011.
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