Some days you are on, and some days—not so much. This shooting of this Snickers Semifreddo cake started off well, but then quickly turned into a mess (see last picture). What’s not a mess—the semifreddo base of this ice cream cake is one of the creamiest!
Sadly, you can’t even see how creamy the semifreddo is. Which is a shame because the whole ensemble is awesome—it’s a vanilla semifreddo rippled with chocolate and caramel ribbons, laced with chopped Snickers, encased with brown sugar cake, and frosted with my new favorite frosting creation, chocolate malt buttercream, then drizzled with a chocolate glaze and finished with more chopped Snickers.
I almost didn’t post this because the shots aren’t to my liking and it doesn’t show off the inside of the food well enough, but then I’m all about sharing failings across the board.
So here’s to the post that I almost didn’t publish. But because I love our Friday hang out here, I posted this- even if it is a hot mess of a shot. For what the texture should look like, click over to my Raspberry and Chocolate Ripple Semifreddo here. This Snickers semifreddo uses the same base–see what I mean about it being creamy–the best type of no-churn ice cream.

Snickers Semifreddo Cake
Ingredients
- Brown sugar cake
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1/3 cup coconut flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup canola oil
- 1 1/2 cup brown sugar, slightly packed
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2/3 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Snickers Semifreddo
- 2 large eggs
- 1 large egg yolk
- 3/4 cups sugar + 2 tablespoon sugar
- 1 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
- 5 tablespooon melted chocolate
- 5 tablespoon caramel sauce
- 8oz. Snickers, chopped
- Chocolate Malt Buttercream
- ¼ cup chocolate malt powder
- 2 tablespoon sweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon instant coffee granules
- ¼ boiling water
- 8 oz. dark chocolate, chopped
- ½ cup dark brown sugar, (divided use)
- ¼ cup milk
- 2 sticks butter (salted)
- 2 ½ cups confectioner sugar
- Chocolate glaze
- 2/3 cups dark chocolate
- 1 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon heavy cream
- 4 tablespoons powdered sugar, sifted
- 4-5 tablespoons water, warm
Instructions
To make brown sugar cake
Preparation: Line jelly roll pan with parchment paper. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Whisk to combine all flours, baking powder and salt in a bowl; set aside.
- Place oil and egg in a stand mixer bowl fitted with a whisk attachment and beat until well combined. Add in both sugars and switch out whisk for the paddle attachment and beat until creamy. Add in the dry ingredients in three additions, alternating with milk and blend after each addition. Add in vanilla and beat until combined.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and level with an offset spatula. Bake for 20 minutes or until cake is golden and springy to the touch Remove from oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack. Line a 9x5 loaf pan with plastic wrap leaving a two inch over hang on each side. Using a 9x5 loaf pan, trace out each side and cut with parchment attached (this will make handling the pieces easier). Place cut outs in pan cake-side down, then peel off parchment; and set aside.
To make Snickers semifreddo
- Place eggs, egg yolk and sugar in a bowl set over a pot of simmering water and using a hand mixer beat until mixture is pale and thick (mixture should resemble cake batter), about 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat and continue to beat for another 4-5 minutes to cool mixture. (Optionally, you can place the bowl in an ice bath to quicken the cooling). Place heavy cream in a chilled bowl and using a hand mixer beat until soft peaks form. Add vanilla and beat until combined. Fold the two mixture together until combined. Add and fold in chopped Snickers.
- Pour 1/2 cup or more of semifreddo mixture into cake lined pan and drizzle strips of caramel and chocolate on top. Continue to layer like this until all ingredients are used. Wrap semifreddo cake in plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 4-6 hours or until set.
To make chocolate malt buttercream:
- Combine and stir malt powder, sweetened cocoa powder, instant coffee granules and boiling water; set aside.
- Place the ¼ cup brown sugar and ¼ cup milk in a pan an on medium heat, and whisk until the sugar has dissolved. Pour over chopped chocolate and let stand for a few minutes. Stir mixture and place over low heat, and whisk until chocolate has completed melted. Add melted chocolate mixture to malt mixture and whisk until combined. Set aside to cool to room temperature
- In a stand mixer bowl, fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and remaining ¼ cup of brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Turn down the speed and add the cooled chocolate mixture (scraped down bowl as needed). Gradually add the confectioner sugar beat until smooth. Remove cake from freezer and frost. (Buttercream will lighten in color as it sits in the freezer)
To make chocolate glaze
- Place chocolate and heavy cream in a bowl over simmering water. Let chocolate and cream sit for 2-3 minutes to melt without stirring. Then slowly stir mixture to combine. Add powdered sugar and water mix to combine. Mixture will appear lumpy at first, keep stirring and it will become smooth. (If you need to add more water for a pouring consistency, add 1 teaspoon in at time after each addition). Pour glaze over chocolate malt buttercream.
**Optional: Finish with a caramel drizzle and more chopped Snickers.
Notes
A few notes:
- Don't be intimidated by the length of this recipe. To stay ahead: Make the cake 1-2 days ahead and keep covered with plastic wrap. The chocolate malt buttercream and chocolate glaze can be made up to a week in advance and kept refrigerated and brought to room temperature before use.
- Ingredients notes: For the instant coffee granules, I prefer to use Starbucks Via Italian Roast - it has a good strong flavor. For the chocolate malt powder, I used Ovaltine. For the caramel sauce I recommend homemade. But if you use store bought, I recommend Marzetti's caramel dip (to use place in a plastic baggie and snip off a corner for drizzling). It's a thicker than the regular caramel sauce you find in the ice cream section--a necessary thing as it will keep it's form in the semifreddo longer.
glorious! I am so into terrine type ice cream cakes; they are simply a hit with everyone! Loving the last photo here.
Love snickers and this cake looks amazing!
Hi Naomi,
This looks amazing! Do you happen to have the recipe? I’d love to try making it!
Can I have this for breakfast? Now?
Amazing!! This sounds so delicious 🙂
That looks amazing, may I have the recipe, please.
This looks awesome,decadent and mouth watering delicious and I really can’t wait to get the recipe to make it.
Definitely just screamed at my desk seeing this recipe. THIS. IS. AMAZING.
Messy or not this looks awesome. I gotta make this. I’ll make the raspberry too.
yum! And I love the last shot! Amazing 🙂
What a gorgeous sight!! I definitely need to face plant in that gorgeous cake 🙂
um, I love messy, and that last shot was what makes me want to dive in and devour that!
Holy sweet goodness! LOVE this!
Oh my – I can’t tell you just how often this happens to me. The ice cream or the whip cream melts & the whole thing just becomes a mess. Or the food just doesn’t translate well on camera. Frustrating for sure & usually sends me back to the kitchen to create something new – which sets me back several days on everything else. Ahhh- even so, I so love my “job”. I know you think this didn’t end well – but from this perspective it’s perfect. beautiful Naomi.
You are so very much way too hard on yourself; many would give their eyeteeth to have such a fail. Even the messy insides…it’s real food, that always looks good!
I’ve also made a chocolate malt buttercream. We might have loved it so much it only got as far as some graham crackers. 🙂
Good for you posting this beauty! For the record, I think that these shots are lovely, but I definitely can relate to having moments like this. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder anyways, right? And might I add, it looks beautiful AND delicious! I’m a fan 😉
This looks amazing!! I love that you don’t even need an icecream maker. Glad you decided to post :-).
WOAH! You have taken it to a whole nother level! This looks hard, I am kinda scared to attempt it. Your directions are great though! It is gorgeous and I would eat it up for sure!
I don’t care how messy that last shot is, this looks perfect!! And the photos are beautiful!!
When you post pictures that are not perfect, you help us all relax and think, with confidence, I can do that!
I think this looks amazing and so glad you shared this with us Naomi:) Totally drooling over the sound of everything in here and the last photo – I love the mess and think it’s perfect:) Pinning this beauty:)
Love messiness in food photos =) It makes it look more human and ready for eating. I’m glad you shared because it’s beautifully delicious-looking!
I love all these photos and especially that messy one! This is too amazing for words!!
This looks incredible and the shots are perfection!
I love everything Snickers and this cake is totally irresistible!
I had an “almost didn’t post” week this week, too, so here’s to sharing failings! Although I must say, I still think these photos are awesome; I love the messy shot 🙂
Stunning cake -recipe, pictures…just a picture perfect, Naomi! Delicious!!!!
I love how over the top this is, and who could resist anything with Snickers?!
Some of the messiest desserts are the most delicious. I love this!
It looks pretty damn delicious to me!
Hi! Your semifreddo recipe was nominated as one of the “Best 300 Semifreddo Recipes on the Net”. To vote for it, please visit – your recipe is positioned at #7 (random order).
This looks awesome,decadent and mouth watering delicious and I really can’t wait to get the recipe to make it.