Tortoni is an Italian frozen cream dessert flavored with a liqueur or in this case almond extract and topped with toasted almonds and armarena cherries, ( wild cherries ) or if hard to find you an substitute using maraschino cherries.
The difference between ice cream and tortoni is in the way they are made. Ice cream is made by blending cream and sugar and sometimes eggs, and then churning air into the mixture with an ice-cream maker. With tortoni, air is whipped into egg whites and into heavy cream, and the two mixtures are folded together, and simply placed in the freezer until frozen.
These are really easy to make, and their flavor improves if they're made a few weeks in advance, and stored in the freezer.
Ingredients:
3 egg whites (Room temp)
¼ cup of whole blanched almonds
¾ teaspoon of vanilla extract
¾ cup of sugar
1 ½ cups of heavy whipping cream
1 ¾ teaspoons of almond extract
Pinch of salt
Amarena Cherries ( wild cherries in syrup )
Instructions:
Prepare a 12 spot muffin tin with cupcake liners.
Put egg whites in a small bowl and let get to room temperature.
Mix ¼ cup of water with the sugar in a saucepan and stir over low heat until it is dissolved.
Bring it to a boil without stirring and no cover, bring to 236 degrees by checking with a candy thermometer.
Beat egg whites on high speed with a pinch of salt just until stiff peaks form when the beater is slowly raised.
Pour the hot syrup mixture slowly over the egg whites and beat constantly until very stiff peaks form when the beater is raised.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Place the blanched almonds in a shallow baking pan and bake until they are lightly toasted. About 8-10 minutes.
Finely chop or grind the toasted almonds.
Put the almond into a small bowl and add 1 ½ teaspoons of almond extract and stir and set aside.
In a medium bowl beat cream, with ¼ teaspoon of almond extract and vanilla until stiff.
With a whisk, gently fold into the egg white mixture until well combined.
Spoon the ice cream like mixture into the tins. or yo can use a piping bag fitted with a 2D piping tip.
Sprinkle with almonds and top it off with a cherry.
Cover with foil and freeze until it is firm/ overnight.