Pumpkin + Creme Fraiche Semifreddo with Graham Cracker Crumbs

The inspiration for this recipe came from a trip to my local Trader Joe’s, which this time of year looks like it’s a shrine dedicated to the pumpkin gods. Surrounded by pumpkin everything (and I mean everything from pumpkin lotion to pumpkin cereal to pumpkin waffle mix to pumpkin beer . . .) I ended up picking up their pumpkin ice cream, which was a bit disappointing. It tasted like a pumpkin spice candle– not exactly what I like my ice cream tasting like. So I made this to satisfy my craving for some legit pumpkin ice cream. Semifreddo is semi frozen custard, similar to an ice cream but with a bit of a different texture since the custard is not churned. Best thing is you don’t need an ice cream maker to make this. This semifreddo is made with rich egg yolks and has whipped cream and creme fraiche folded into it. I made these in individual jars, but you could easily make this in a loaf pan. To top it off, I made some graham cracker crumbs toasted in browned butter and sugar. YUM.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of pumpkin puree
• 9 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon of ground cloves
• 1/8 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 1/8 ground ginger
• 1/8 ground cardamom
• 1/8 ground nutmeg
• 1 3/4 cups of heavy whipping cream, chilled
• 1 1/2 cups of creme fraiche
• 12 graham crackers
• 1/4 cup of packed brown sugar
• 6 tablespoons of unsalted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon of kosher or sea salt

Directions:

• First make the graham cracker crumbs. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Pulse the crackers in a food processor (or smash them in a large ziplock bag), until they are consistency of small crumbs. Transfer to a bowl and add the brown sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and mix to combine. Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat and keep the pan swirling until the butter begins to brown and the butter smells like caramel. Keep the pan swirling to prevent the butter from burning. Don’t use a non-stock or dark pan because it’ll be hard to see whether the butter is browning. Don’t let the butter burn. Pour the melted butter over the crumbs and mix until the graham crackers are the consistency of moist sand. Pour the crumbs in an even layer on a baking sheet and bake for about 3-4 minutes until the crumbs begin to toast.
• To make the semifreddo, place the egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl and place it over a double boiler with simmering water. Whisk the yolks and sugar continuously for 5 minutes until the yolks become lighter colored and thicker. Remove from the double boiler and add the puree and all the spices. Whisk until smooth and combined.
• In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, pour the cold cream and creme fraiche in the bowl and whisk until medium peaks form. Fold the cream into the pumpkin mixture until evenly combined.
• To assemble the semifreddo, spoon about 1/3 of the crumbs into 6 jars, and divide half of the semifreddo evenly between the 6 jars. Layer the other 1/3 of the crumbs over the semifreddo and then layer the last half of the semifreddo over the crumbs.
• Cover the jars in plastic wrap or with lids and freeze until firm, about 4 hours to overnight. Top with the extra crumbs before serving.

(images by HonestlyYUM)