Polka Dot Pound Cake Semifreddo

This Polka Dot Pound Cake Filled Chocolate Semifreddo is such a fun and festive dessert! It's spotted with pound cake and it's absolutely delicious!

Over the past year, I have had so much fun creating surprise inside cakes. Today I decided to take that idea and change it up a bit to make a surprisingly easy dessert. Instead of stuffing cake inside of cake, I thought it would be fun to try to stuff cake inside chocolate mousse, and it worked beautifully.

To keep this recipe quick and simple I started by using frozen pound cake. All I had to do was slice the cake and cut it into polka dots. It couldn't have been easier to make my cake shapes.

Then I whipped up my favorite chocolate mousse, piped it into the pan that the pound cake came in, added my pound cake polka dots and more chocolate mousse, popped it in the freezer for a few hours, then sliced it into it to reveal the polka dots. I have to say I was pretty excited to see this work so well.

I was even happier that it turned out to be so easy.

Polka Dot Pound Cake Filled Chocolate Semifreddo

Ingredients:

1 frozen pound cake
1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
3 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons sugar
3 egg yolks, room temperature

Instructions:

Cut the pound cake into 1-inch thick slices.

Cut three different-sized dots out of each cake slice.

To add a touch of whimsy cut a very small hole out of the largest dots.

Pop the cake back in the freezer while you make the chocolate mousse.

Whisk whipping cream to soft peaks. Set aside.

Melt the chocolate in a large bowl.  Click here for detailed melting instructions.

Pour water and sugar into a small saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium heat. Stir until the sugar is dissolved creating a simple syrup. Whisk egg yolks in a medium bowl. Continue to whisk while slowly drizzling in the simple syrup.

Combine eggs with melted chocolate, stirring until well incorporated.  Heat the chocolate mixture in the microwave for 15 seconds then stir.

Add one-third of the whipped cream and whisk until well incorporated.  Gently fold in the remaining whipped cream until fluffy.  Fill a large 18-inch pastry bag with the chocolate mousse.

Clean and dry the tin foil pan the pound cake came in. Pipe a thin layer of chocolate mousse into the bottom of the pan. Arrange the smallest polka dot pieces of cake in one straight line down the length of the pan. Add a little extra chocolate mousse around those pieces of cake.

Pipe chocolate mousse into the holes of the largest polka-dot pieces of cake. Arrange those in a straight line down the length of the pan trying to line up the holes.

Pipe chocolate mousse over the tops and around the sides of all those pieces of cake. Tap the pan a few times to make sure the mousse fills in all the gaps.

Add the final row of polka-dotted cake on top of that mousse.

Pipe the remaining mousse on top.

Smooth out the top, cover it in plastic wrap, and place it in the freezer for at least four hours.

When you are ready to serve the semifreddo, tug on the sides of the tinfoil pan then cut slits down the middle of each side of the pan and simply peel the foil away from the semifreddo.

Slice the semifreddo into 1-inch slices revealing the polka dots.

You can keep this dessert stored in the freezer for at least a month. Just make sure it's wrapped tightly. You can serve this right out of the freezer if you want a nice ice cream-like texture or allow it to sit at room temperature for 10 to 20 minutes for a more mousse-like texture. The choice is yours. 

You Might Like these other dessert recipes:

Polka Dot Chocolate Coconut Fudge

Chocolate Raspberry Mousse Cake

Chocolate Cherry Mousse Cake

Cranberry Orange Semifreddo Hearts

Embrace the beautiful weather that we are having and make some of these gorgeous and scrumptious Summer Fun Recipes.

• Author
• Recent Posts

Beth Klosterboer

Hi, I'm Beth Jackson Klosterboer, a professional chocolatier & baker, cookbook author, and event planner. I love sharing recipes for happy occasions here on Hungry Happenings. I also create easy fudge recipes to share at HowToMakeEasyFudge.com, rice krispie treat recipes at HowToMakeCerealTreats.com, and easy cookie recipes at HowToMakeEasyCookies.com

Latest posts by Beth Klosterboer (see all)

• Mini Peanut Butter Cheesecakes - June 20, 2023
• Homemade Chocolate Easter Bunnies - April 3, 2023
• Mini Basketball Cheeseburgers - February 15, 2023