It tasted like ice cream, because it was very cold. But it actually wasn't ice cream. It was more of a mousse. So I wanted to make one myself.
What you need for a parfait is basically heavy cream, sugar, egg yolk. That's it. Then you add the taste you like, for example: lemon juice, lemon zest or mangos, whatever you like.
I took this recipe:
finely grated zest and juice of 3 limes
4 egg yolks
75g caster sugar
300 ml double cream
1) First mix the egg yolks with the sugar over a hot water bath. Mix until the mixture turns pale and stop at 80 °C. Let it cool down in ice water.
2) Mix the egg yolk/sugar with the lime juice and zest.
3) Whip the cream until soft peaks and fold it with the egg yolk mixture.
4) Put in freezer for 8 or more hours.
It's that simple. Now let's see if making it is as simple as it seems.
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The next day, I tried to make it and it sure as hell wasn't easy.
Let's go over all my mistakes.
First off, I made the egg/sugar mixture first, which was a mistake, because the time to make the whipped cream was much longer than the time to make the egg/sugar mixture. By the time that the cream was whipped, my egg/sugar mixture started to deform and harden (because the bowl was still hot and I didn't cool it down in ice water). But it wasn't all that bad. What we learn here is: first whip the cream, then make the egg/sugar mixture. And cool down the egg/sugar mixture with cold water.
Second, when I made the egg/sugar mixture (which was pretty easy to make), I used a warm water bowl while mixing. But I made the mistake to use the same warm bowl to whip the cream. The result was that I made butter out of it.
I tried to whip a second time and it worked. Now for the taste, I added blackcurrant because the garden had those.
I mixed egg/sugar with some blackcurrant juice and added that to the whipped cream.
And finally put it in the freezer. I have the feeling that I didn't whip the cream long enough.
After three hours in the freezer, I couldn't resist to taste it. The taste was pretty good, but the texture wasn't good. I tasted ice crystals, normally you wouldn't taste ice. This means I either added too much blackcurrant juice, or I didn't whip the cream long enough. Next time, I will whip the cream longer. Another issue is the sugar. I added half the amount of the sugar, but that was a mistake too. The sugar is crucial to prohibit the ice crystals from forming as sugar lowers the freezing temperature.
Notes:
- It is best to mix the egg yolks as much as possible, until it gets very hard and the color turns almost white.
- Always put the mixture in the freezer as soon as possible, because the fluid and the fat should be held together.
- Do not add too much liquid to the mixture.
- Make sure all your ingredients are ice cold when mixing them together, otherwise you will get separation of fluids.
Other Recipes:
Now if you think you can't do anything with the left over egg whites. This lemon parfait recipe uses egg white only.
INGREDIENTS:
PREPARATION:
Line a 13 x 23-cm (5 x 9-inch) loaf pan with plastic wrap.
In a small saucepan, bring the water, sugar and lemon zest to a boil. Simmer without stirring until a candy thermometer reads 112°C (234°F).
In a bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar with an electric mixer. When soft peaks begin to form, add the hot syrup in a thin stream while still beating. Continue beating until stiff peaks form, 4 to 5 minutes. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
In a bowl, whip the cream. With a spatula, fold in the chilled meringue and the lemon juice.
Spread the mixture in the loaf pan. Cover and freeze for at least 3 hours.
Unmould and slice. Garnish with seasonal fruit and serve with a tuile or other delicate cookie.
If you want yet another recipe, here's one to make Coffee Parfait by Raymond Blanc:
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The next day, I tried to make it and it sure as hell wasn't easy.
Let's go over all my mistakes.
First off, I made the egg/sugar mixture first, which was a mistake, because the time to make the whipped cream was much longer than the time to make the egg/sugar mixture. By the time that the cream was whipped, my egg/sugar mixture started to deform and harden (because the bowl was still hot and I didn't cool it down in ice water). But it wasn't all that bad. What we learn here is: first whip the cream, then make the egg/sugar mixture. And cool down the egg/sugar mixture with cold water.
 |
| Egg and Sugar Mixture |
Second, when I made the egg/sugar mixture (which was pretty easy to make), I used a warm water bowl while mixing. But I made the mistake to use the same warm bowl to whip the cream. The result was that I made butter out of it.
 |
| I made butter |
Third, I had no idea how to whip cream. I mixed much too hard and I used a warm bowl to mix the cream. These are the worst conditions to whip cream. The right way is to follow these steps:
- Always use a cold bowl, cold cream, cold whip.
- Try to use cream that is as old as possible, fresh cream doesn't work well.
- Use cream that has a very high fat percentage, preferably 40%. I used 30%.
- Do not mix the cream at high speed, use medium speed. Otherwise you risk making butter.
- Mix the cream with a mixer and your arm should make large circular strokes to get the air in.
- When you see the cream thicken, you will have soft peaks after a few minutes and that's what you're looking for.
I tried to whip a second time and it worked. Now for the taste, I added blackcurrant because the garden had those.
 |
| Blackcurrant |
 |
| Blackcurrant Parfait |
After three hours in the freezer, I couldn't resist to taste it. The taste was pretty good, but the texture wasn't good. I tasted ice crystals, normally you wouldn't taste ice. This means I either added too much blackcurrant juice, or I didn't whip the cream long enough. Next time, I will whip the cream longer. Another issue is the sugar. I added half the amount of the sugar, but that was a mistake too. The sugar is crucial to prohibit the ice crystals from forming as sugar lowers the freezing temperature.
 |
| End Result |
- It is best to mix the egg yolks as much as possible, until it gets very hard and the color turns almost white.
- Always put the mixture in the freezer as soon as possible, because the fluid and the fat should be held together.
- Do not add too much liquid to the mixture.
- Make sure all your ingredients are ice cold when mixing them together, otherwise you will get separation of fluids.
Other Recipes:
Now if you think you can't do anything with the left over egg whites. This lemon parfait recipe uses egg white only.
INGREDIENTS:
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) water
- 180 ml (3/4 cup) sugar
- Grated zest of 2 lemons
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 3 egg whites
- 1 ml (1/4 teaspoon) cream of tartar
- 375 ml (1 1/2 cups) 35% cream
- Seasonal berries, for garnish
- Tuiles or other thin, crisp cookies
PREPARATION:
Line a 13 x 23-cm (5 x 9-inch) loaf pan with plastic wrap.
In a small saucepan, bring the water, sugar and lemon zest to a boil. Simmer without stirring until a candy thermometer reads 112°C (234°F).
In a bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar with an electric mixer. When soft peaks begin to form, add the hot syrup in a thin stream while still beating. Continue beating until stiff peaks form, 4 to 5 minutes. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
In a bowl, whip the cream. With a spatula, fold in the chilled meringue and the lemon juice.
Spread the mixture in the loaf pan. Cover and freeze for at least 3 hours.
Unmould and slice. Garnish with seasonal fruit and serve with a tuile or other delicate cookie.
If you want yet another recipe, here's one to make Coffee Parfait by Raymond Blanc:
Ingredients
- 8 free-range egg yolks
- 100g/3½oz caster sugar
- 250ml/9fl oz sweet, fruity dessert wine, such as Monbazillac or Beaume de Venice
- small pinch cayenne pepper
- 1-2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 200ml/7fl oz whipping cream, whisked until soft peaks form when the whisk is removed
- 50ml/2fl oz coffee essence or cooled strong coffee
Preparation method
- Whisk the egg yolks, sugar and dessert wine together in a large heatproof bowl until pale and fluffy.
- Set the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water and continue to whisk for 3-4 minutes, or until the mixture is pale and has thickened (the temperature of the mixture should reach about 78-80C/175F).
- Remove from the heat, set the bowl in a larger bowl of iced water and whisk again until cool.
- Whisk in the cayenne pepper and lemon juice. Set aside until completely cold.
- Whisk one-third of the whipped cream into the cooled sabayon mixture, then carefully fold in the remaining cream until just combined.
- Fold the coffee essence carefully into the sabayon until combined.
- Spoon the mixture into a 1.2kg/2lb 10¼oz loaf tin, levelling the top with a palette knife. Chill in the freezer for at least 12 hours, or until solid.
- When ready to serve, remove the coffee parfait from the freezer and dip the loaf tin into hot water to loosen the parfait from the tin. Run a blunt knife around the parfait, then turn it out onto a long rectangular plate.
- To serve, slice the coffee parfait and serve with caramel sauce or vanilla cream, if using. Sprinkle with chopped roasted nuts and dust with cocoa powder.
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