Classic French

Iced coffee parfait

Name: Iced coffee parfait
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 10
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 4 Egg yolks, medium, organic or free-range; 50g Sugar, caster; 125ml Sweet dessert wine; 1 tbsp Lemon juice, or to taste; 150ml Whipping cream; 75ml Espresso Coffee (Ristretto); 50g Pistachio; 30g Almond Flakes; 30g Sugar, icing; 10ml Kirsch or Cognac; 100ml (20+80ml) Water; 150g Sugar, caster; 2g Arrowroot, diluted in a little water; 150ml Whipping cream; 30g Sugar, caster; 1tsp Vanilla purée

The taste of a Parisian café!

Prep 15 minsCook 15 minsServes 10

This recipe is born out of the amazing sabayon base but don't be afraid - it's not as hard as it sounds! A classic sabayon is simply egg yolks, and sugar whisked over a bain-marie until mousse-like in texture. It is then cooled very quickly in a bowl with ice before whipped cream is folded into it to create a luxurious creaminess. Then all you have to do is freeze your sabayon. Here, I have used coffee to flavour it, but you can use any flavours you choose, such as citrus or caramel. It can even be prepared up to a week in advance, so it's an easy dessert for Christmas day if you have guests who don't like Christmas pudding!

Ingredients

For the sabayon:

4Egg yolks, medium, organic or free-range
50gSugar, caster
125mlSweet dessert wine
1 tbspLemon juice, or to taste
150mlWhipping cream

To finish:

75mlEspresso Coffee (Ristretto)

For the garnish:

50gPistachio
30gAlmond Flakes
30gSugar, icing
10mlKirsch or Cognac

For the caramel sauce:

100ml (20+80ml)Water
150gSugar, caster
2gArrowroot, diluted in a little water

For covering the parfait:

150mlWhipping cream
30gSugar, caster
1tspVanilla purée

Method

1
For the sabayon: In a large heatproof bowl, whisk the egg yolks, caster sugar, wine and lemon juice together for 1 minute. Stand the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water.
This is called a bain-marie. (Make sure the bowl is not in direct contact with the water, or the eggs will scramble.
) Whisk for 7–8 minutes until it reaches 78°C, resulting in a light, fluffy sabayon. Remove the bowl from the heat and place it over a larger bowl of crushed ice.
Continue to whisk until the sabayon is cold. In another bowl, whip the cream to soft peaks and then fold it into the cold sabayon - make sure the sabayon is fully cold because even a slight bit of warmth will split the sabayon.
Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
2
To finish: In a large bowl, fold the sabayon and coffee together.
Fill a mould with the sabayon, smooth the top, and freeze overnight.
3
For the garnish: Mix all the garnish ingredients together, lay on a baking tray and cook for 7 minutes at 180ºC until lightly golden and crunchy.
4
For the Caramel sauce: In a small saucepan on a high heat, bring 20g of the water and sugar to the boil and cook to a dark golden caramel.
Add the remaining water to stop the cooking.
Mix in the diluted arrowroot to thicken the caramel sauce.
Cool down.
5
To serve: Whip the cream with the sugar and vanilla to make a crème Chantilly. Fill a ridge-nozzled piping bag with the cream.
Dip the parfait mould in hot water for four to five seconds and, using the point of a knife, pull the iced parfait onto a cutting board and pipe the whipped cream over the parfait. Return to the freezer for 15 minutes to set the cream.
Using the blade of a hot knife, slice the parfait and arrange in the middle of a cold plate. Drizzle the caramel sauce around and sprinkle with the toasted pistachios and almonds.

Chef's Tips

“
"For the garnish: You can use any mixture of nuts, seeds, dried fruits, or spices: Nuts – brazil, pecan, walnut, hazelnut Seeds – sunflower, pumpkin, sesame, Dried Fruits – cranberry, blueberry, raisin, golden sultanas, Spices – cinnamon, star anise, nutmeg, allspice, mace." "Making the caramel: Taking the caramel to a dark golden brown is important; it will reduce the sweetness and give a better caramel flavour. If the caramel is too light or blond, it will be far too sweet and devalue the dish."

Cooking is always an expression of care and generosity. Enjoy this dish.

Bon appétit!