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Dessert - by Scarlett

From soufflé to parfait, you'll find my personal selection of yummy dessert recipes here and more!! So for home-made goodness or sweet treats around Sydney, be sure to check here - oh, and bon appétit!! Scarlett :)

Parfait - Dessert

White Chocolate Parfait with Flambéed Cherries

November 13th 2007 10:14

White Chocolate Parfait with Flambeed Cherries

White Chocolate Parfait with Flambéed Cherries

About sabayon (Zabaglione)

Zabaglione is an Italian dessert made with egg yolks, sugar, a sweet liquor (usually Marsala wine), and sometimes one of cream, mascarpone, or whole eggs. It is a very light custard, which has been whipped to incorporate a large amount of air. Zabaglione is traditionally served with fresh figs and is sometimes also spelled sabayon, while its real Italian name is zabaione (or zabajone, which is an archaic form). It is also popular in Argentina, where it is known as sambayón. In Colombia, it’s known as sabajón. In Venezuela, a related egg-based dessert drink is called ponche de crema.

Zabaglione originated in Venice when this city ruled the Adriatic. Originally, sweet Cyprus wine was used, but with the retreat of the Venetian Republic, Marsala wine began to be used instead. Another change in the recipe is the use of sugar instead of honey, the original ingredient.
Classical zabaglione uses raw egg yolks, but today many may prefer to prepare it in a bain-marie. However, it is often recommended to use a simple double boiler with a heat resistant bowl suspended above the water and to barely simmer to avoid scrambling the eggs. Beaten egg white is also widely replaced by whipped cream. Occasionally, the wine is omitted when the dish is served to children or nondrinkers.

INGREDIENTS
Makes 10 parfaits, 95 gm /3 oz each

Flambéed cherries

300 gm / 10 oz fresh cherries, drained
60 gm / 2 oz sugar
2 gm / ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
150 gm / 5 oz port wine
10 Baked disks of chocolate meringue 2½-inch / 6-cm in diameter
110 gm sugar
75 gm / 2.5 oz water
120 gm / 4 oz egg yolks
150 gm / 5 oz white chocolate, chopped
375 gm / 12 oz heavy cream

For decoration

chocolate curls as needed
pistachios as needed

For the chocolate meringue

250 gm / 8 oz egg whites
250 gm / 8 oz fine granulated sugar
125 gm / 4 oz cocoa powder
250 gm / 8 oz confectioners’ sugar

1. Prepare the baked chocolate meringue disks, with the whip attachment; beat the egg whites first at medium speed, then at high speed, until they form soft peaks.

2. Add the granulated sugar, a little at a time, with the machine running. Whip until stiff.

3. Sift the confectioners’ sugar twice with the cocoa powder.

4. Stop the machine. Fold in the cocoa powder and sugar with a spatula..

5. Mark circles of 2½-inch / 6-cm in diameter on a sheet of parchment.

6. Using a pastry bag, pipe the chocolate meringue in a spiral to fill circles.

7. Bake at 100ºC until crisp but not browned.

8. Cool the meringues, then remove them from the parchment. Be careful, because they may be fragile.

9. Prepare the cherries: Pit the cherries and place them and the sugar in a saucepan. Heat gently until liquid begins to cook out of the cherries. Continue to heat until the liquid is almost evaporated. Add the vanilla and the port. Place over high heat and flambé to burn off the alcohol. Continue to cook, lightly covered, over low heat until the juices are thick and syrupy. Drain the cherries and set aside. Reserve the syrup.

10. Set 2¾-inch / 1-cm ring molds on a tray. Place a disk of baked Chocolate Meringue in the base of each.

11. For the parfait, dissolve the sugar in the water and bring to a boil.

12. Whip the egg yolks until light and gradually whip in the hot syrup. Continue whipping until cool.

13. Melt the white chocolate over a hot water bath.

14. Quickly mix the chocolate into the egg yolk sabayon. Do not overmix, or the sabayon may fall.

15. Whip the cream and quickly fold in.

16. Without delay, fill the molds about two-thirds full. Place 6-8 cherries in each one, pushing some of them down into the mix. (Reserve the remaining cherries and syrup to serve with the parfaits.) Fill to the top with parfait mix and level the tops. Freeze for at least 1 hour or until firm.

17. To serve, unmold by lightly warming the mold and lifting off. Top with chocolate curls and pistachios and a few cherries. Spoon some of the cherry syrup and a few more cherries onto the plate.

Note:

Cherries packed in syrup may also be used. Morello cherries (griottes) are especially good in this preparation.

**From “Professional Baking” and “Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia”**

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Nougatine Parfait

September 14th 2006 09:43

Nougatine Parfait

About Nougatine

Nougatine is a pliable paste made with caramelized sugar and glucose syrup mixed with crushed or ground almonds or hazelnuts. The hot paste is poured onto an oiled surface and rolled into thin sheet. Before hardening, the sheet is cut into desired shapes or formed into various three-dimensional objects. These may be used as decorations or serving vessels for other sweets or desserts.

About Parfait

In French, parfait is frozen custard made with cream, and usually with a fruit puree. American Parfait is a tall glass filled with ice cream, layered with various syrups, topped with whipped cream and a cherry. In Japan, a parfait refers to an ice cream sundae.

About Nougatine Parfait

The texture of Nougatine Parfait is similar to Nougatine ice cream. Tastes heavenly even without sandwiching with Arlettes.

About Italian Meringue

This is a stable type of meringue which holds its volume after whisking. Making it ideal for use in souffles. The sugar is made into a syrup, boiled to the hard ball stage (for which you will need a sugar thermometer). Then whisked into whipped egg whites.

About Kirsch

Kirsch is a clear brandy made from double distillation of the fermented juice of a small black cherry. It is colourless because it is not aged in wood. The cherries used recently can be either sweet or sour, but in the past the sour morello cherry was used with the pit crushed down. The morello cherry was originally grown all around the Black Forest so that is believed to be where the drink originated from.

INGREDIENTS
Serves 15

For the Nougatine
50 gm corn syrup
62½ gm granulated sugar
50 gm roasted almond slices

For the Italian meringue
37½ gm egg whites
75 gm granulated sugar
20 gm water

For the parfait
75 gm mixed candied fruits
10 gm kirsch
450 gm whipping cream 35%
1 gm fresh mint leaf, chopped (optional)

For the arlettes (45 Pieces)
250 gm bread flour
250 gm cake flour
10 gm salt
250 gm ice cold water
75 gm butter, softened
410 gm butter, hardened in refrigerator, for the turns
icing sugar

1. Make the Nougatine: Put the corn syrup in a heavy-based saucepan and place over a gentle heat, add in sugar, and allow to melt. Keep a careful eye on the caramel, and stir with a wooden spoon. Once the sugar is fully melted, but not burnt, stir in the roasted almond slices. Gently stir over low heat.

2. Place the caramelized almond on the baking paper, cover with another baking sheet.

3. Using a rolling pin, crush the caramelized almond until it becomes very thin. Peel off the top baking sheet, allow to cool.

4. Place the Nougatine in a plastic bag, crush with a rolling pin again until it is reduced to crumbs.Set aside.

5. To make the Italian Meringue: Put the sugar and and water into a heavy-based saucepan and place over a gentle heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved. When clear, boil the syrup to the soft ball stage – that is, when it reaches 116 degrees Celsius – which takes about 5 minutes.

6. Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl or electric stand mixer, whisk the egg whites to the soft peak stage – which takes a minute or two. Immediately remove the syrup from the heat.

7. Turn the mixer with the egg whites back on a slow speed.

8. Slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the whites, and continue to whisk until tepid. Set aside.

9. To make the Parfait, on a working surface mix the candied fruits with kirsch, add the chopped fresh mint leaf, if using. Mix well and chop.

10. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the whipping cream until light and fluffy. Fold in the Italian Meringue, blend well.

11. Add in the chopped candied fruits, stir well. Then add in crushed nougatine, stir well.

12. Transfer the mixture to a plastic rectangular mould, level the surface and chill until firm.

13. To prepare the puff pastry, on a lightly floured work surface, sift the bread flour and cake flour together, then mix in the salt. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture, place in 75gm softened butter.

14. Using a cake spatula, draw flour from the side to mix well with the butter. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture again. Gradually add in the iced cold water, little by little, knead gently until the dough is soft and wet (Don’t over knead to hard and dry dough).

15. Knead to the ball dough which is springy but not sticky, then wrap in the cling film and chill for about 2 hours.

16. Take out the ball dough and 410gm hardened butter; keep in the room temperature for a while. Test the same hardness (no more or less) of both by press fingers into them respectively.

17. On a lightly floured work surface, slice a cross at the top of the dough, then pull it out towards four directions. Dust off with pinch of flour, roll out the dough to a thin cross dough. Place the hardened butter at the centre of the thin cross, fold over the dough to enclose the butter completely then pinch the edges to seal, making sure none of the butter breaks through.

18. Carefully roll out the dough in one direction to a rectangle, prick any bubble with skewer. Dust off any surplus flour with a dry pastry-brush, then fold the dough neatly into three, bringing the top third down and placing the bottom third over it to make a layered square. Wrap in cling film and leave to rest in the refrigerator for 30-45 minutes. Unwrap, place the dough at a right angle with folding lines face outwards. Roll out the dough in one direction only until shape into a thin rectangle as before, fold and wrap and chill again, and repeat the rolling, folding and wrapping and freeze for 6 times as before. The butter will have been rolled into wafer-thin layers between the dough.

19. To make the Arlettes: Preheat the oven to 210 degrees Celsius. Turn out the dough on to a lightly floured work surface, roll out the chilled pastry to a square, about 20cm x 20cm x 1½cm thick. Cover with a clean wet cloth.

20. Roll the puff pastry to a long bar, wrap with the clear film and chill again.

21. Take out the puff pastry bar, sprinkle with the icing sugar evenly. Note that the icing sugar is a MUST for making Arlettes. Don not use flour.

22. Cut the puff pastry bar into small pieces, about 5mm thickness.

23. Sprinkle the icing sugar on both the working surface and the puff pastry evenly.

24. Roll each puff pastry piece into thin oval shape. Note that don’t leave puff pastry for too long as they are hard to roll when softened. Better to keep them in fridge and take out 1-2 pieces each time.

25. Gently pat off the excess icing sugar to ensure even distribution on the oval puff pastry.

26. Arrange the Arlettes on the sil-pat evenly. Air dry for about 30 minutes. Bake for 8-10 minutes until the arlettes golden and shiny. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. You can remove those pieces that are already shiny and golden prior, and continue baking the rest.

27. Take out and unmould the Parfait, cut to 1cm thick slices.

28. Sandwich 2 parfait slices with 3 pieces of arlettes.

29. Just before serving, dust with icing sugar and decorate with sprig mint, serve immediately.

Tips:

1. The corn syrup is very sticky, wet your hands before touching it.

2. Kirsch enhances the fragrance of the candied fruits and prevent them from sticking to the knife.

3. When making the parfait, you can choose other crushed nuts to replace with the candied fruits.

4. The firmer the chilled Nougatine Parfait, the better it tastes. It is because the parfait melts quickly if not serve immediately.

**From “Five-Star Pastry by Tony Wong”, “NORDIC Recipe Archive” and “Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia” **

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Posted By: Scarlett - Category: Parfait

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