Author Notes
Avocado pairs very well with many soft cheeses, both in sweet and savory dishes, and what wouldn’t be delicious with mascarpone and heavy cream? This Semifreddo looks like homemade ice cream but involves much less work. The combination of creamy avocado, mascarpone and heavy cream makes the texture very smooth, but the chocolate and hazelnuts pieces add a very pleasant crunch. You may like to add some broken pieces of cookies, wafers or brittle and also use bananas or mango instead of avocado. —Kukla
Ingredients
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• 1 large or 2 medium ripe Hass avocados, halved, seeded, peeled and finely chopped
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• 1 tablespoon lime zest + 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
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• A pinch of coarse salt
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• 1 1/2 cups mascarpone cheese, room temperature
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• 1 cup cold heavy cream
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• About 3/4 to 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
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• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract or 1 tablespoon Hazelnut flavored liqueur
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• 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
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• 1/2 cup Hazelnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
Directions
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In a bowl of food processor, combine avocado, lime zest, juice and salt. Puree until very smooth.
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Whisk mascarpone, cream, confectioners' sugar almond extract until medium-stiff peaks form. Fold in avocado pure until fully incorporated; then fold in chocolate and Hazelnuts. Line a 5-by-9-inch loaf pan with parchment, leaving a 4-inch overhang on all sides.
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Spread mixture in the loaf pan; cover with plastic wrap. Freeze until firm, 6 hours (or, covered, up to 3 days). When ready to serve, get the semifreddo out and let sit 10 minutes at room temperature. Invert onto a serving platter; peel away parchment and serve.
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