I love making semifreddo ice cream…it’s so easy, and better yet, it does not need an ice cream maker. Since creating this recipe a while ago when I made some with Heath bar toffee pieces, I could not wait to make it again. This time I decided to create an ice cream sandwich using a very thin brownie recipe that I recently developed. If you prefer to make regular ice cream, then by all means do it because this is just too delicious to pass up!
When I want to make regular brownies I definitely use butter because there is just no comparison in taste, but this brownie recipe is made with vegetable oil and is just perfect for this application. It bakes up as thin or thick as you like and because of the oil, it stays moist and tender right out of the freezer.
I recently made this over the Holidays for friends and family and everyone just loved it! Remember that semifreddo does not freeze completely, so you will need a sharp knife to cut through the bar…or better yet, cut the pieces for the top ahead of time and then place them in the mold side by side. Then you will only have the bottom layer to cut through when you are ready to serve, and that will not be difficult at all.
Fudge Brownie Layer for Ice Cream Sandwiches (makes 1 half sheet pan)
1/3 cup cocoa powder (1.5 oz)
5 oz hot water
2 oz unsweetened chocolate
4 tablespoons butter (2 oz)
5 oz vegetable oil (1 cup)
2 eggs (3.6 oz)
2 yolks (1.2 oz)
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 ½ cups granulated sugar (1 lb 3 oz)
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour (11 oz)
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon baking powder
Heat up the water in the microwave and add in the unsweetened chocolate and butter and stir until melted. Sift cocoa powder into a medium sized bowl then add in the eggs, yolks, sugar vanilla and oil and whisk everything well together. Next, add in the water and chocolate mixture and mix again. Sift all of the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl and then whisk that into the wet mixture until it is well combined and no lumps are visible. Pour this into a greased, paper lined half sheet pan and bake for 20-30 minutes until brownie is completely set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely, then freeze. This will be easier to handle once frozen so that you can mold for the ice cream sandwiches. When ready to handle, trim the brownie pieces to the size of your mold and refreeze them once they have been cut to size.
Next make the semifreddo…
Rum Raisin Semifreddo
1 cup raisins, process in food processor to almost paste
¾ cup Myers rum (split in ½ cup plus ¼ up)
6 yolks
¼ cup powdered sugar (whisk into yolks)
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla or 1 vanilla pod, scraped
1 ¼ cup heavy cream, whipped
¼ cup powdered sugar (goes into heavy cream)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
First, add the raisins to a small bowl, and heat up the ½ cup rum slightly in the microwave and then pour this over the raisins. Allow the raisins to sit in the rum for a few hours or overnight. When ready, add the raisins with the rum liquid to your food processor and puree them until they are almost paste. If you need to add more rum, then add the additional ¼ cup while the raisins are in the food processor, then set aside.
Next, add the cream and the powdered sugar and cinnamon to the bowl of your stand mixer and whip until the cream is firm, then put this into another bowl and refrigerate.
Next, remove the brownie pieces from the freezer. Place one of them on a paper lined tray and place the mold over it. Place the other layer back in the freezer until ready.
Separate the yolks and put them into the bowl of your stand mixer. Next add the powdered sugar and whip together right away. Never let sugar sit on top of egg yolks for any period of time because it will ‘cook’ the surface of the yolk. Then add the extracts or the vanilla paste from inside of the bean. Set this bowl over a double boiler with slowly simmering water, but do not allow the bowl to touch the water or it will cook the yolks. Whip this mixture for approximately 10-15 minutes, continually whipping the mixture until it is pale yellow. When ready, feel the yolk mix with your fingers and it should be very warm but not hot. Remove the bowl from the double boiler and put this to continue whipping on your stand mixer, until it cools completely and has become pale and slightly thick. At this point, fold in the whipped cream and rum raisin mixture and the pour into your prepared mold with the brownie piece at the bottom.
Then remove the other brownie layer from the freezer and place directly on top of the semifreddo mixture in the mold. Press the brownie down slightly into the soft semifreddo. Allow this to set completely in the freezer for at least 4 hours or overnight for best results.
The texture of the semifreddo is very delicate, smooth and creamy, and will not become completely hard like ice cream. When you are ready to serve, use a torch to gently heat the sides of the mold to lift it off. When slicing, make sure to use a very sharp knife to cut through the top brownie layer…but what may be easier for you to do is pre-slice the top layer into even wedges and lay then side by side on top of the semifreddo, then when you are ready to slice, you simply cut in between the pre-cut wedges and through the bottom brownie layer. Dust with powdered sugar or drizzle the top with chocolate…this is just pure decadence….
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