Pears
6 cups water
1½ cups sugar
8 3×1-inch orange peel strips
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 small firm but ripe Anjou, Bartlett, or Comice pears, peeled
¼ cup chopped husked toasted hazelnuts
4 orange slices
SEMIFREDDO: Line 8×8×2-inch metal baking pan with plastic wrap. Whip cream to soft peaks in medium bowl. Mix ice cream, hazelnuts, liqueur, chocolate, and orange peel in large bowl just until blended. Gently fold in whipped cream. Transfer mixture to prepared pan; smooth top. Cover and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.
DO AHEAD: Can be made 4 days ahead. Keep frozen.
SAUCE: Bring cream, liqueur, and salt to boil in heavy small saucepan. Remove from heat and add chocolate. Let stand 3 minutes. Whisk until chocolate is melted and sauce is smooth. Whisk in corn syrup.
DO AHEAD: Can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.
PEARS: Stir 6 cups water, sugar, orange peel, and vanilla in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; add pears and simmer until pears are just tender, about 20 minutes. Remove pears from poaching liquid. Cool pears and poaching liquid separately. Return pears to poaching liquid and refrigerate until cold.
DO AHEAD: Can be made 8 hours ahead. Keep chilled.
Stir chocolate sauce over low heat until warm. Cut semifreddo into 4 squares. Place 1 square in each of 4 bowls. Using slotted spoon, remove pears from poaching liquid. Place pears atop semifreddo. Spoon chocolate sauce over pears to coat, allowing extra sauce to drizzle onto semifreddo and plate. Sprinkle with nuts. Garnish with orange slices and serve.
You won’t need an ice-cream machine for this rich and decadent frozen custard. It’s layered with homemade caramel sauce and crunchy toasted walnuts, then topped with whipped cream. These are pretty generous portions; if you like, divide the parfait mixture among six small glasses instead of four large ones. Makes 4
Sauce
¾ cup sugar
¼ cup water
¼ cup light corn syrup
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
⅓ cup sour cream
4 teaspoons chopped toasted walnuts
Parfaits
1 cup chilled heavy whipping cream, divided
⅓ cup sugar
6 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons instant espresso powder or instant coffee powder
2 ounces high-quality white chocolate (such as Lindt or Perugina), chopped
2 tablespoons Kahlúa or other coffee liqueur
½ cup sour cream
½ cup chopped toasted walnutsWhipped cream
4 walnut halves or chocolate-covered coffee beans
SAUCE: Stir sugar, ¼ cup water, and corn syrup in heavy medium saucepan over low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil without stirring until syrup is deep golden brown, occasionally brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush and swirling pan, about 10 minutes. Add cream and butter (mixture will bubble vigorously); whisk until smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in sour cream.
Spoon scant 1 tablespoon sauce into each of 4 Margarita glasses or wine glasses. Sprinkle each with 1 teaspoon nuts. Place glasses in freezer.
PARFAITS: Whisk ¼ cup cream, sugar, egg yolks, and espresso powder in small metal bowl to blend. Set bowl over saucepan of simmering water (do not allow bowl to touch water). Whisk mixture constantly until thermometer inserted into center registers 160°F, about 3 minutes. Remove bowl from over water. Add white chocolate and Kahlúa and whisk until smooth. Using electric mixer, beat custard until cool and thick, about 5 minutes.
Combine remaining ¾ cup cream and sour cream in large bowl; whisk until stiff peaks form. Gradually fold yolk mixture into cream.
Pour ⅓ cup parfait mixture into each glass. Chill remaining parfait mixture. Freeze parfaits in glasses 1 hour.
If necessary, stir remaining sauce over low heat just until pourable. Spoon 2 tablespoons sauce over each parfait, tilting glasses slightly to cover parfait. Sprinkle each with 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts. Place in freezer until sauce sets, about 20 minutes. Divide remaining parfait mixture among glasses. Freeze 1 hour. Drizzle 1 tablespoon sauce over each parfait in zigzag lines. Cover and freeze overnight.
DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 week ahead. Keep frozen.
Let parfaits stand 10 minutes at room temperature. Spoon whipped cream into pastry bag fitted with medium star tip. Pipe 1 rosette of whipped cream atop each parfait. Garnish each parfait with walnut half and serve.
A simple but sophisticated treat, these parfaits feature purchased vanilla ice cream and lemon sorbet, topped with sweet, fresh raspberries, then drizzled with limoncello, the Italian lemon liqueur. Storing limoncello in the freezer will make it icy cold; because of the high alcohol content, it won’t freeze solid. Look for it at liquor stores and some supermarkets. Makes 8
1 pint vanilla ice cream
1 pint lemon sorbet
4 cups raspberries
16 tablespoons frozen limoncello or other lemon liqueur
Scoop ice cream into 8 parfait glasses, dividing equally. Scoop lemon sorbet atop ice cream, dividing equally. Sprinkle ½ cup raspberries into each glass. Drizzle 2 tablespoons limoncello over each and serve immediately.
This shortcut semifreddo (made without whipped cream) starts with purchased vanilla ice cream, which gets triple-almond flavor from toasted sliced almonds, amaretti cookies, and amaretto. It is then served with an intense amaretto-chocolate syrup. 6 servings
Semifreddo
1 pint vanilla ice cream, slightly softened
2 tablespoons amaretto
2 ounces (about 9) amaretti cookies (Italian macaroons), coarsely chopped (about 1 cup)
⅓ cup sliced almonds, toasted
Chocolate Syrup
¼ cup water
3 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 tablespoon amaretto
Additional sliced almonds, toasted
SEMIFREDDO: Line 8×4½×2½-inch loaf pan with waxed paper. Mix ice cream and amaretto in medium bowl. Stir in cookies and almonds. Transfer mixture to prepared pan; smooth top. Cover and freeze until firm, about 2 hours.
CHOCOLATE SYRUP: Bring ¼ cup water to simmer in heavy small saucepan over high heat. Remove from heat and add chocolate. Whisk until sauce is smooth. Stir in amaretto.
DO AHEAD: Semifreddo and sauce can be made 3 days ahead. Keep semifreddo frozen. Cool, cover, and refrigerate sauce. Rewarm sauce slightly before using.
Remove semifreddo from pan and discard waxed paper. Dip heavy large knife in hot water; cut semifreddo into 6 slices. Place 1 slice on each of 6 plates. Let stand about 5 minutes to soften slightly. Drizzle warm chocolate syrup atop semifreddo. Sprinkle with additional almonds and serve.