This our Strawberry Shortbread Semifreddo recipe is made with a cream and custard base, sweet roasted strawberries and buttery shortbread cookies, for a no churn frozen dessert, perfect for any occasion.
Unlike other no churn ice creams, semifreddo adds a richness thanks to the egg yolks that are whipped up and then combined with whipped cream before adding in the real flavor powerhouses of our dish. This easy-to-follow recipe will walk you through every step, so you can create this impressive dessert with confidence.
Why you’ll love this
Refreshing and Creamy
This dessert is light and creamy, making it the perfect way to cool down on a hot summer day. The sweet roasted strawberries and creamy texture create a refreshing and satisfying treat.
Impressive and Elegant
This dessert may look fancy and complicated, but it's actually quite simple to make with our step-by-step recipe guide. It's an impressive dessert that doesn't require much effort and is great to make ahead!
Perfect for Any Occasion
Whether you're hosting a fancy dinner party or just want to treat yourself to a delicious dessert, this Strawberry Shortbread Semifreddo is the perfect option. It's versatile and adaptable, so you can use any fresh fruit you have on hand to create a unique flavor combination.
Ingredients and substitutions for Strawberry Shortbread Semifreddo
- Strawberries: Fresh strawberries were used here because they are plenty in season, however, because you roast them, substituting with frozen would work fine. It is recommended to roast longer to get the full effect of drawing out the moisture in the berries.
- Eggs: Whipped the eggs with the sugar gives our semifreddo the volume and richness that compliments the cream and works particularly well with the strawberry flavor.
- Sugar: The best sugar here is superfine or caster sugar which adds the sweetness without any additional flavor.
- Vanilla bean paste: The vanilla bean used here is fresh from homemade vanilla extract, if you do not have any on hand, simply substitute in 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract to your cream mixture so as not to cook off the extract in the roasting/cooking process.
- Heavy Cream: The heavy cream makes for a nice controllable whipped cream gives our no churn iced dessert it’s signature texture. I have not tried making this with coconut whipped cream so cannot recommend.
- Shortbread: This one is an easy win, simply use the best store-bought shortbread you can find…or you can make a small batch which I’ve written up in the FAQ’s below!
Equipment needed to make this
Roasting tray: You'll need a roasting tray to roast those strawberries.
Blender: To blend ⅔'s of the roasted strawberries to a sauce...you could also mash them.
Saucepan: A small saucepan is best to heat the strawberry sauce to reduce it.
Hand or stand mixer: To whip the eggs, a hand mixer is best to really give them volume as they heat in the double boiler or bain marie. The cream can also be whipped with a mixer, however, this can be done by hand.
Mixing bowl: Two medium mixing bowl's are needed for the eggs and cream mixture.
Freezerproof tin: The tin used here fits 1 kilo or 2 pounds and it was filled pretty high!
FAQ’s for the best Strawberry Shortbread Semifreddo
Can I make a batch of shortbread for semifreddo?
Yes you can! Due to the small amount you need here, even the dough doesn’t take long to come together!
Here is the recipe:
Shortbread
50 grams / 1.75 ounces butter, softened
25 grams / ¼ cup confectioner’s/icing sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
106 grams / ⅔ cup plain flour, sifted
Directions:
Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla beans and beat on medium until pale and fluffy, approximately 4 minutes with a hand beater.
Add the flour and combine on low until just combined and no dry patches remain in the bowl.
Shape into a dish, roll out into ¼ inch thickness and cut into rectangle shaped shortbread.
Place on your lined baking tray and refrigerate for 20 minutes or until the dough feels cold to the touch.
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F and bake for 14 minutes or until lightly golden on the edges.
Remove and allow to cool fully before breaking into bite size pieces.
Can I roast strawberries ahead of time?
Yes! Roasted strawberries are a great way to prolong the life of strawberries which is another reason this is a great way to consumer them. You can roast the strawberries up to 3 days before including into the semfreddo, allow them to cool somewhat before covering and refrigerating.
More strawberry desserts you'll love
Jordbærkage - Danish Strawberry Tart
How to make Strawberry Shortbread Semifreddo:
Preheat the oven to 160C/320F.
Toss the strawberries, sugar and vanilla paste into your baking dish and stir together.
Place in the oven and bake until the strawberries are a deep color and the juices have cooked off, approximately 50 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Set ⅓ of the roasted strawberries aside and place the remaining roasted strawberries and all the syrup into a blender and blend until smooth.
Pour into a saucepan and cook on low-medium heat until bubbling and the liquid has reduced by about ⅓, approximately 15 minutes. You’ll know they’re perfect when the bubbles are thick and the smell is intensely fruity. Set aside.
Place the eggs, yolks, extract and sugar into a heatproof bowl over a double boiler on medium heat and whip until thickened and pale, approximately 12 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Fold the reduced strawberry sauce into the egg mixture until well combined.
Whip the cream until soft peaks are just reached and then fold into the cooled fluffy egg mixture.
Add in the roasted strawberries and fold until well combined.
Finally toss in the shortbread chunks and fold until well combined.
Pour into a freezer proof dish and freeze for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Remove and allow to soften slightly.
Scoop up and serve in bowls or ice cream cones.
Enjoy!
Strawberry Shortbread Semifreddo
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: + freezing time 5 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: Serves 8
- Category: Desserts, Frozen
Description
This Strawberry Shortbread Semifreddo recipe is made with fluffy whipped cream, roasted strawberries and chunks of shortbread biscuits for an easy no churn frozen scoop perfect for those hot summer days.
Ingredients
Roasted Strawberries
600 grams / 1.3 pounds strawberries
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
50 grams / ¼ cup superfine/caster sugar
Vanilla Semifreddo
3 eggs, room temperature
2 egg yolks, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
50 grams / ¼ cup superfine/caster sugar
450 milliliters / 2 cups - 1 tablespoon heavy cream
80 grams shortbread, broken into uneven bite size pieces
Instructions
Roasted strawberries
- Preheat the oven to 160C/320F.
- Toss the strawberries, sugar and vanilla paste into your baking dish and stir together.
- Place in the oven and bake until the strawberries are a deep color and the juices have cooked off, approximately 50 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
- Set ⅓ of the roasted strawberries aside and place the remaining roasted strawberries and all the syrup into a blender and blend until smooth.
- Pour into a saucepan and cook on low-medium heat until bubbling and the liquid has reduced by about ⅓, approximately 15 minutes. You’ll know they’re perfect when the bubbles are thick and the smell is intensely fruity. Set aside.
Vanilla semifreddo
- Place the eggs, yolks, extract and sugar into a heatproof bowl over a double boiler on medium heat and whip until thickened and pale, approximately 12 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- Fold the reduced strawberry sauce into the egg mixture until well combined.
- Whip the cream until soft peaks are just reached and then fold into the cooled fluffy egg mixture.
- Add in the roasted strawberries and fold until well combined.
- Finally toss in the shortbread chunks and fold until well combined.
- Pour into a freezer proof dish and freeze for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Remove and allow to soften slightly.
- Scoop up and serve in bowls or ice cream cones.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Recipe by Roamingtaste
Nutrition
- Calories: 352 calories per serve
Keywords: strawberry recipe, no churn ice cream, frozen dessert
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