Peanut Butter and Chocolate Semifreddo
“You have to get rid of some stuff!” My husband tells me every so often. “Stuff”, referring to the multitude of kitchen appliances I have amassed over the years. It has come to a point where we’ve had to put in extra shelving in the garage to accommodate my “little helpers”.
I’ve learned to engage my inner zombie every time he brings this up. I don’t even bother pretending NOT to know what he’s talking about. I just zone out…
Yes, it’s true, guilty as charged, I am a kitchen appliance hoarder. Every time I make an attempt to get rid of one of them I always find myself thinking “Oh but in the future, I just might actually use it again…” Never mind that I have only used my express pizza oven once (I find now that cranking the oven heat right up and a pizza stone works just fine.). I don’t even want to remember the vacuum sealer that I bought a year ago after buying Thomas Keller’s Sous Vide Cookbook, which sadly, remains unopened. There’s also the smoker, the portable barbecue, the tagine…
And of course, my ice cream maker which I bought three years ago. I bought it during my macaron phase – having had to throw away so many egg yolks, I thought having the ice cream maker would be a great way to use the leftover yolks… It doesn’t matter of course that I’ve only used it once. The truth is, I can’t be bothered making ice cream – now that I’m over my macaron phase, I rarely have any leftover yolks. I find the process a little cumbersome as well. Unless you have a really fancy machine (which mine is sadly not), then you have to go through the process of pre-freezing the ice cream bowl, making the custard, churning the cream and then freezing it again.
There’s no denying however that homemade does taste fantastic. So chancing upon this semifreddo recipe from an Everyday Food magazine, I knew I had to make it. With a powerhouse cast of peanut butter, hazelnuts and chocolate, it’s quite possibly the easiest frozen dessert you’ll ever make. No need for an ice cream machine, and unlike a traditional semifreddo, no need to make a sabayon either – hey, there are no eggs in the recipe, so absolutely no chance of overcooking your egg yolks!
And when I gave my husband a plate of this creamy dessert, he tasted it, smiled and finished the plate and then said “Am so glad you finally managed to use that ice cream maker!”
Shhh…… 🙂
Peanut Butter and Chocolate Semifreddo
Peanut Butter and Chocolate Semifreddo
Adapted from Everyday Food Magazine
- 500 ml whole milk
- 225 grams plus 115 grams sugar
- 600grams extra crunch peanut butter
- 75 grams Lindt 70% Cocoa Cooking Chocolate
- 50 grams toasted and chopped hazelnuts
- 500ml heavy cream
- Line a 12×24 jumbo loaf pan with cling wrap, leaving an 8 cm overhang on all sides. In a medium saucepan, combine the milk and 225 grams sugar. Bring this to a simmer and then once the sugar is melted, take the mixture off the heat and add the peanut butter. Allow to cool to room temperature.
- In another saucepan, bring the rest of the sugar and 115 ml water to a boil. Once the sugar has dissolved, remove the saucepan off the heat and add the chocolate, stirring until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Add the hazelnuts. Allow to cool to room temperature.
- Place the cream into a large bowl and whip to soft peaks using an electric mixer. Add half of the peanut butter mixture and whisk until combined.
- Pour the cream to fill half the loaf pan, then pour over half of the remaining peanut butter mixture and 1/2 of the chocolate mixture.
- Top with the remaining cream mixture. Using a skewer, or thin bladed knife, swirl the mixture together.
- Freeze the mixture until firm, around 5 hours. To serve, remove from the freezer and let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes.
- To serve, mix the rest of the peanut butter mixture and chocolate hazelnut mixture together. Heat in the microwave for 20 seconds to warm and spoon over the semifreddo.
- Silicone molds are also a great way to form the semifreddo.
Trissalicious 
Love your site, just stumbled across it from a southern grace. All your photos and recipes look amazing! and I also love your blog name, too cute!
I think your husband and mine should have a talk… I am sure they share very similar ideas on kitchen stuff!! I actually love my icecreammaker, but then I’ve only used it twice sofar (so already more then you, haha) and we did buy an additional little freezer just to be able to accomodate the icecream bowl. So I store it in the freezer, making it always readily available when I want it. But your semifreddo looks absolutely delicious!! Gotta go and make it too!
oh god the chocolate hazelnut mixture dribbling down the side! Looks delicious!
You could have worse habits than hoarding kitchen appliances!
Oh Trissa, I love the shhh at the end of your blog! Haha so cute. I can’t wait to try this recipe!
Oh my goodness, that looks divine!!!
Wishing you a fabulous 4th.
*kisses* HH
*drools* this looks fabulous! And I’m so surprised you didn’t have to use any eggs or gadgets hehe!! I love this hazelnut, choc and pb combo – ahh it sounds like bliss 😀
You have a home full of the latest kitchen appliances but yet you have created a recipe that uses none. lol!! Gorgeous treats.
Beautiful and kid friendly 🙂
I think I’ll be making this when we have our friends and their little boy over for dinner this long weekend.
Lol! Love your husband’s comment regarding the ice cream maker.
Some of my favourite flavours all in one dessert. Nice!
Trissa..love the write up as always, but I’m sorry, the chocolate peanut butter semiffreddo kept distracting me. Another way to use my two top fav flavors. It looks beautiful!
I totally feel your pain. Love kitchen appliances but have NO space for them in my house at the moment, so I had to downsize, even giving stuff to my sisters. Hopefully I move soon so I can start to accumulate heaps more stuff- I have been slowly and secretly doing so anyway! Of Course the new food processor belongs in the linen cupboard!! The semi-freddo looks lovely.
wow I just love it, such a sexy petite piece of dessert. I like having the present of peanut butter in it! 🙂
That photo is divine, Trissa. I MUST make this. Just finished another semifreddo that I’m going to post next week, but this puts it to shame!
39 responses – whew! I am not a peanut butter and chocolate person – but those photos are deadly. GORGEOUS photos!
🙂
Valerie
Ooooh! Ahhhh! Mmmmm! I won’t breathe a word about the non-involvement of the ice cream maker to your husband. Seeing as it’s much more difficult to send a fully-formed dessert such as this semifreddo all the way to the Midwest US, then perhaps I can offer to take some of your appliances off your hands. Of course, I will probably have to shove aside my own stovetop smoker and still-in-the-box blender to make room . . . 😎
Dear Trissa – This looks divine and the fact that you had to put extra shelving in the garage for appliances makes me smile!
Excellent recipe with a small number of ingredients! Impressive.
Ciao, Devaki @ weavethousandflavors
Nice blog you have here! Glad to know about it – just added you to my reader.
I totally understand how you feel about the kitchen appliances. I can’t throw anything away either. I need them, they’re my babies!
I recently bought an ice cream machine and I use it every week. I can’t believe you don’t use yours often! This semifreddo looks amazing Trissa. I’m guessing this will be my next weeks ice cream 🙂
Magda
I am guilty of stocking up on kitchen appliances as well and only “learn my lesson” when I had to move so frequently cos it is always hard to bring everything along with me :O
Then now I am in need of everything including a mixer that is required in this recipe 😦
LOL my husband is like that too! and like you, I just zone out, ignore =P
Don’t worry Tris. I bought my ice-cream maker and it took me 2 years to use it, and only recently. And I also have bread maker, pasta machine etc. etc.
Okay, I should take it out and use it now since you have inspired (and pushed) me to it!
LOL, Trissa you are adorable! I can just picture you collecting all these kitchen gadgets :)) Glad you got to reuse the icecream m/c.. I am launching my campaign at home for one 🙂 Only I have a problem – I am not an ice cream person!! Sighh.. 🙂 I think I shall prevail anyway 🙂
Trissa, what a beautiful dessert, so elegant and nicely presented 🙂
ha–you vixen! actual ice cream or not, this is an outstanding treat to beat the summer heat, and it’s positively stunning. 🙂
Yes I too fell for the vacuum sealer but on the up side my ice-cream maker is used regularly. This recipe looks divine
Trissa – That looks wonderful. I am going to have to try this. It looks great!
Yum!
I smiled reading this; I’m always on the brink of overloading my kitchen with rarely-used gadgets. I’ve always wanted a tagine myself even if I’ve only ever made tagine once. Sounds like this semifreddo has earned you a reprieve from the pressure to unload anything for a while. That’s great! 🙂
I also have a lot of mkitchen appliences & I use them all frequently except my ice cream maker!!
Maybe I will be using it for this tasty, very well flavoured & stunning semi freddo!
LOL.
iz funny.
how big is that by the way? Since you have a recipe here, I’ll let my wife make one as big as a house.
Hee hee I like the sound of not needing an ice cream machine!! and of course the wonderful combo of PB and choc (and hazelnut) yumm!!
i agree it certainly looks divine trissa!
judging by the beautiful photos, I believe you that they are the tastiest semifreddo 🙂 I wish I have a garage to store my stash!
This looks deeelish – peanuts and chocolate are a great combination. This also looks like a great recipe for people who can’t or won’t eat eggs without compromising on flavour or texture .. MMmmm 🙂
Looks gorgeous & wickedly simple. Alas, I have the same problem with hoarding kitchen gadgets – since we downsized to an apartment recently my bf threw out most of my beloved gadgets (sad). And I’m not allowed to buy an icecream maker till we upsize and find space. Double sad. Will have to live vicariously through your post..
We seem to have a lot in common! As you may be aware, I recently purchased a soda maker (and have yet to use it yet!) I think we ought to start a club or something: Foodie Gadgets Anonymous.
Love how dainty this is. You can eat one little one and not feel any guilt. Well, I could, anyway. 😉
heh i love your stories trissa! the semifreddo has got me drooling with envy
Looks so beautiful! Your photos always inspire me. 🙂
this looks absolutly delish! I am anxious to try it out!!
How funny, I bought an inexpensive icecream maker and used it once or twice after I bought it. Now it’s gathering dust in the attic. This semifreddo looks and sounds amazing!
Wow it looks so decadent and rich! Definitely a big plus that it doesn’t need an ice cream maker and doesn’t use eggs!
OMG! I am printing this as we speak (or write should I say)! This is so fantastic! Perfect – no eggs, no icecream machine, not healthy (kids love that fact)! So it will go down perfect for the whole family! YUM – I will make it today!
Seems won-der-ful, can’t wait to try it! That said, I suppose it will taste better with 500 ml of milk instead of 500 cups, right? 😛
This does look and sound easy! Great for me cause I’ve been craving some cool refreshing treats (summer in DC are so hot and muggy!) but have filled up my apartment with too much kitchenware to buy any more O=). Plus, what a classic flavor combo (just made some PB chocolate cookies).
This looks delectable! And to think, I just spent three days making ice cream … but I didn’t use 500 cups of milk = )! silly girl!
Hehe,that’s funny,I think my bf doesn’t quite realise how much “stuff” we have…Luckily!This dessert looks absolutely delicious!
I want this so badly right now.
Wow.
Yum!!! I have been craving chocolate for a few hours and this is making me want peanut butter, too 😛
Looks wonderful, Trissa – I’m assuming the measurement for the milk is 500 ml? or 2 cups? This is heading straight to the top of my lengthy “To Make” list.
Thanks
Foodelf
I’m sold! I’m guilty of buying appliances too. I have an ice cream maker which I’ve used once as well. It is still sitting in my freezer, ready for churning at any moment. Any. Moment. Now. Indeed.
Trissa, your story is so interesting to read. I think many people, including me, are very much like your situation, stocking up many kitchen appliances that only used once or even haven’t touched for a long time.
I am so with you. I think we have the same ice cream maker… sucks and take up so much space. And also my trays and gadgets. But I do use heaps of them… just some go unnoticed. I have saving this recipe for the near future.
Very very rich! I love anything peanut butter!
Haha, I’ve only just bought an ice-cream maker! About to break into it next weekend too =)
Oh yummy!! What a treat!
Trissa, that looks absolutely gorgeous, and so glossy. I could eat several, I think – now, where are my expandable yoga pants???
Ha ha, sneaky Trissa. Luckily we live in a unit which means I have very limited storage so I can’t actually accumulate appliances. Sadly, this means no ice-cream maker. Happily, this semifreddo looks like an awesome workaround! Thanks for sharing.
So excited that no icecream machine is required! Have been trying to keep kitchen doodads to a minimum, but have been feeling the pull of an icecream machine from all the icecream recipes i’ve seen on blogs recently.
But if I can make something as awesome as your semifreddo without one, then brilliant! And it’s peanut butter and chocolate too (my fav, yay!)
OMG! I am drooling at my screen and I actually wanna lick it…
LOL! Your stories always bring a smile to my face! After seeing this I have to make some! It looks so good and so easy!