Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups milk
- 6 large egg yolks
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon amaretto liqueur
- 1/2 cup chopped almonds
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
Spiced Honey:
- 6 figs, fresh or dried, cut into quarters
- 6 dates, pitted and chopped
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 lemon , juiced
- 1 cinnamon stick
- Amaretto cookies, for garnish
Directions
Pour the milk into a saucepan and bring just to a boil over medium-high heat.
In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and the sugar until the sugar starts to dissolve and the yolks turn light yellow, about 3 minutes. Gradually whisk in the hot milk, adding it in a thin stream at first so as not to cook the yolks, and then more quickly. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over low heat, without boiling, until the mixture thickly coats the back of a spoon, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and amaretto. Refrigerate until cool (or chill in a water bath).
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the almonds on a baking sheet and toast until golden and fragrant, 7 to 10 minutes.
When the custard is cold, whip the cream to stiff peaks and fold into the custard along with the toasted almonds. Scrape the mixture into a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan, cover and freeze until firm.
Meanwhile, put the figs, dates, honey, water, lemon juice, and cinnamon stick in a small saucepan and set it over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes until the fruit is soft. Let cool slightly, then remove the cinnamon stick.
To serve, dip the bottom of the loaf pan in a bowl of hot water for 5 seconds. Put a platter on top and then invert quickly; lift off the loaf pan. Cut the semifreddo into slices and put the slices on plates. Spoon the spiced honey and dried fruit over and crumble amaretto cookies over the top for crunch.











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By carlos_8569319
EAST LANSING, MI
on May 15, 2011
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Very good! But as some have said, I had to cook the custard longer than 4-5 minutes. I stopped cooking it after 40 minutes, but even then it wasn't thick enough to cover the back of a spoon. I'm not sure what I did wrong--I followed the recipe to the letter. Probably because it wasn't thick enough the almonds sank to the bottom and some separation occurred during freezing.
By patmccon
Mantua, OH
on December 21, 2010
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Different and good. I had to cook the sauce a lot longer to get the figs soft enough for my taste. I also cut the figs into smaller chunks than in the recipe. (Maybe I used bigger figs?
By anita_6897478
Connecticut
on January 25, 2010
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I made this recipe twice over the holidays. I was looking for a light, refreshing dessert and this was perfect. I followed the recipe as written and had no problem with the custard, although I cooked the custard longer than what is written. I think the real star is the topping. The second time I doubled the topping recipe as I think it was a wonderful accompaniment to the semifreddo. I think it was an excellent dessert. I typically don't care for "cold/frozen" desserts, especially in the winter but this worked beautifully after the big holiday meals.
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