It’s time for our second Blue Ribbon Challenge!!

Are you excited? Did you like the theme?

I sure did! I have to admit, it was my first time making semifreddo. Why, oh why, haven’t I made this dessert before? No idea. It’s no-bake, so versatile and a real treat in this hot weather. I went with my current theme, Black Forest, which is basically a cherry and chocolate combo. Can’t go wrong here, if you ask me. I made my base as you would for a classic semifreddo. Eggs, sugar and cream. I added a layer of my favorite cocoa and Biscoff cookie crust and freshly chopped cherries. And….. I topped it all with my go-to cherry sauce. HEAVEN!

Black Forest Semifreddo

 for the semifreddo:
4 Tbsp granulated sugar
2 large eggs, separated
1 c heavy cream
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
for the cookie crust:
3 1/2 oz Biscoff cookies or graham crackers
1/2 tsp instant coffee granules
3 Tbsp butter, melted
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp cocoa powder

for the cherry sauce:
6 oz. ( 1 c ) pitted cherries
1/4 c granulated sugar
1/2 c water

about 10 chopped cherries ( 2 oz. )

To make the cherry sauce, place cherries, sugar and water in a medium saucepan.
Cook until cherries burst and the sauce thickens. Cool completely.

In a food processor, crush cookies to crumbs. Add coffee granules, both sugars and cocoa powder.
Pulse for 30 seconds. Add melted butter. Pulse for about a minute.
Transfer into a small bowl. Set aside.

Line a loaf pan with a plastic wrap, making sure you have a nice overlap that will make pulling our the ready semifreddo out easy.
Spray with cooking spray. Set aside.
Prepare 3 bowls.
In one bowl, beat egg yolks with sugar and vanilla until pale.
In a second bowl, beat cream until soft peaks form.
In a third bowl, beat egg whites with salt until stiff peaks form.
Add cream mixture to egg yolk mixture and gently fold in just a couple of times.
Now, add the egg whites mixture and fold in until everything is uniform.
Do not overmix, or you will beat the whole air out.
Pour half of the semifreddo mixture into your lined pan.
Sprinkle half of the cookie crumbs mixture over it. Top with chopped cherries.
Pour the rest of your semifreddo mixture over the cherries layer. Smooth it out.
Sprinkle the rest of your cookie crust over the top. Press gently.
Cover with a plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 8 hours or overnight.
Slice and serve with cherry sauce.

Recipe for semifreddo adapted from The Italian Dish blog.

Note: This dessert is made with raw eggs. It’s up to your consideration to make it.

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I will be making this dessert again for sure! My Hubby already has a suggestion for the next flavors combo!

Now, onto the challenge! Please link up below. This time, I chose a different linky tool for a couple of reasons. One, to encourage everyone to actually go and visit the blogs participating and because when the other linky tool expired, I lost all the links… Lesson learned. To vote, please leave the name of your favorite entry in the comments below. The voting is open till midnight on Friday. The results will be announced on Saturday, on my Weekend Wrap-Up post.

Ok! Let’s start the challenge! Show me whatcha got!

Leave your vote in the comments section.