An Italian dessert featuring pomegranate for a festive winter color and flavor!
This month’s Recipe ReDux theme is:
Grab your nearest cookbook and ReDux the recipe on page 201, 16, 216 – or any combination of the number ‘2016.’
So, I cheated a bit and used a magazine.
I won a subscription to the gorgeous Donna Hay magazine last year thanks to a raffle donated by a2 Milk at a Food and Culinary Professionals reception.
If you aren’t familiar with Donna Hay, she’s the Australian equivalent to Martha Stewart (even better IMHO) and first credited with food photography going with a cleaner, more simple, white on white style in recent years.
On page 102 of last year’s December/January issue there was this gorgeous photo of a Raspberry Cream Semifreddo along with the copy: “The classic pairing of sweet raspberries and cream in this icy dessert is the perfect way to cool down on a hot Christmas day.”
Oh the irony, living here in the Northeast, of having a hot Christmas day (though last year it was in 60s.)
I’ve never made semifreddo before – which is Italian for “half-cold” and is typically a softened version of ice cream made with cream, eggs and sugar, frozen in a rectangle mold and served sliced. So, I pulled out the Italian version of the Betty Crocker cookbook – The Silver Spoon – and lo and behold, several semifreddo recipes appeared on page 1102 (so I’m back to following the theme rules after all.)
Here are the tweaks I made in my semifreddo version:
- Used whole milk instead of heavy cream
- Used 4 eggs instead of 8 yolks
- Used pasteurized eggs (to skip the heating step to get the raw eggs to a safe temperature)
- Used pomegranate juice and arils in place of raspberries – tis the season!

Pomegranate Semifreddo
- Yield: 10 servings 1x
Description
An Italian dessert featuring pomegranate for a festive winter color and flavor!
Ingredients
- 4 pasteurized raw eggs
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup pomegranate juice
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 cups whole milk
- Pinch of salt
- Arils from 1 pomegranate (about 1 cup)
- Fresh mint leaves
Instructions
- Separate the egg whites from yolks. Place whites in large mixing bowl and yolks in separate bowl.
- Whip the egg whites together and slowly add 1/4 cup sugar while whipping. Whip until stiff peaks form. Slowly whip in pomegranate juice and lime juice. Set aside
- In bowl with egg yolks, add remaining 1/4 cup sugar, milk and pinch of salt. Whisk together well.
- Fold egg whites mixture into egg yolk/milk mixture.
- Line 8 x 4-inch loaf pan with plastic wrap (with enough to hang over sides of pan.) Slowly pour mixture into pan.
- Freeze for 4 – 5 hours.
- Before serving, soften in refrigerator for 10-15 minutes.
- Top with pomegranate arils and fresh mint leaves. Slice and serve immediately.
Truth be told, I tested this recipe three different times. First time, I used too much pomegranate juice so it was an icy mess. The second time, I beat the pomegranate juice with the egg yolks so the color was rather…..greyish-brown.
Third time around, I mixed the juice with the egg whites which turned a prettier light pink hue. But tthe final product was more like a layer of granita on the bottom and ice cream on top. Next time, I think I’ll thaw it in the refrigerator for about 10 -15 minutes before serving – after all semifreddo is suppose to be “half cold” not “all cold.”
Angela Maciel
Tuesday 28th of November 2017
this looks way too delicious and tastes delicious as well. Tried it with my husband and turned out to be super delicious. thanks for sharing
Agness of Run Agness Run
Sunday 15th of January 2017
Looks delicious! Thanks for the detailed and inspirational post!
Ilana
Monday 26th of December 2016
That looks so good!!! I love pomegranates. I can't wait to try this recipe.
Autumn @ AutumnPTW.com
Thursday 22nd of December 2016
Never heard of Donna Hay, will be on the look out for her now! Thanks for sharing, love the recipe!
Deanna Segrave-Daly
Thursday 22nd of December 2016
She has amazing style and taste :) Thanks for the comment!
Sonali- The Foodie Physician
Wednesday 21st of December 2016
Haha, I can't believe you cheated and used a magazine! Perks of being a founder, lol!! Seriously though, this looks fabulous- absolutely perfect for a hot Fort Lauderdale Christmas!