STRAWBERRY SEMIFREDDO GETS SMOKY

Strawberry Semifreddo gets smoky is a “cool” treat with a little smoky taste for your BBQ!

My favorite fruit season is here!  Strawberry picking and eating season.  I’ve worked on a trio of recipes to take full advantage of the short seasonal harvest we have here in Western New York State.  My first was a Smoked Strawberry Hand Pie.  The second is another dessert option – Creamy Smoked Strawberry Semifreddo.  The perfect slice of smoky, cool goodness on a hot day.

Just grab a couple of quarts of fresh strawberries or even store bought when they are out of season in your area and pick your smoke technique: we have three options – the charcoal grill which is how I did my strawberries, the gas grill or the handheld food smoker.  Be sure to make plenty of extras so you can enjoy our other recipes.  Let’s get started.

Ingredients & Prep

Once you’ve smoked your strawberries using one of our easy techniques, you’ll just need six ingredients to make the actual semifreddo.  For a single semifreddo, you’ll need a standard bread loaf pan and either plastic wrap or press ‘n seal wrap.  Line the loaf pan with the wrap so it hangs over the ends.  This will allow you to easily remove the semifreddo from the pan once it sets up in the freezer.  For the actual semifreddo, you will need 1-1/2 cups of whipping cream, 2 cups of smoked strawberries, 1/3 cup of sugar, 1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice, ½ teaspoon of vanilla, and ½ cup of Greek plain yogurt.  You will also need a hand or stand mixer for whipping the cream, two medium size bowls, and a small saucepan.

Start the semifreddo by whipping the 1-1/2 cups of whipping cream using a hand or stand mixer until stiff peaks form.  Fold in the ½ teaspoon of vanilla.  I do this step first and place the entire bowl in the refrigerator to keep it chilled while I work on the rest of the recipe.  Next, you’ll need to get your saucepan, smoked strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice ready as this step will be done on the stovetop burner or the grill’s side burner. 

Smoke Meets Sweet

While the whipped cream is chilling, time to take the previously smoked strawberries and sweeten them up.  Place the 2 cups of smoked strawberries in a small saucepan.  Add the 1/3 cup of sugar to the pan and stir constantly.  Allow the mixture to come to a boil, then reduce the heat and cook for just about 5 minutes, again stirring constantly.  The strawberries will thicken up and infuse the smoky, sweet flavor.  Remove from heat and place in a bowl or container to cool.  You can do a quick chill to the mixture by placing in the freezer for about 10 minutes or in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes.  Be sure the mixture is cool before working it into the cream.

Semifreddo Time!

Once the smoked strawberry and sugar mixture is completely cool, time to fold it into our whipped vanilla cream.  Take the whipped cream from the refrigerator and pour the strawberry mixture into the cream bowl.  Gently fold the strawberry mixture into the cream until completely combined.  This will produce a beautiful pink coloring with speckles of the red strawberry seeds.  Next, you’ll need the prepared loaf pan as we get ready to mold the semifreddo for freezing.

Pour the strawberry cream mixture into the prepared loaf pan ensuring that the overhang of the liner remains intact.  Place the loaf pan in the freezer for a minimum of 3 hours.  Once set, remove the semifreddo from the loaf pan by gripping the liner overhangs and lifting the entire loaf out of the pan.  Place on a serving platter and slice into 1-inch thick slices.  This can be served as is, or with additional whipped cream and mint leaves.  Full of sweet and smoky flavor that is a great cooling dessert when the days are hot.

Tasting Notes

For mild smoke flavor infusion, try using a handheld food smoker.  For medium smoke intensity, a gas grill or stovetop smoker pan works perfectly.  For those who prefer a bold smoke flavor, the charcoal grill is the answer.

We hope this recipe inspires you to try wood-fired grilling techniques with your favorite foods.  Tells us what is your favorite fruit to smoke or grill with wood and the perfect recipe to make?  Bringing innovation to wood-fired cooking with recipes, techniques and the science behind the fire, smoke, and flavor. That’s SmokinLicious®. wanting you to “cool” off with our BBQ desert-Try our recipe–Strawberry Semifreddo gets smoky!