Ah… this brings back memories of
the Erkel. Frozen parfait was always very expensive and not something you just
walked in for and ate on the way home. You sat inside the coffee house and
luxuriated with every spoonful of heaven. I had a liter of whipping cream to
use up. The plans for a fruity pavlova for Christmas ended with a last minute bakery
run. I am feeling a little better now, but the whipping cream expired as of
yesterday. Now we know that nothing really expires on said date, but you don’t
want the stuff kicking around too long either. This was the second recipe with
whipping cream and as of now we are officially out of pre Christmas whipping
cream. I tweaked the recipe and replaced the chocolate chips with Callebaut,
the finest Belgian chocolate and wow it’s almost as good as it was fifty years
ago at the Erkel.
FROZEN CHOCOLATE PARFAIT
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup fine dark chocolate, finely chopped
5 egg yolks*
3 Tbsp sugar
1/4 cup whole milk
3 egg whites
4 tsp. sugar
* When separating the yolks from the whites: retain 3 of the
whites for the parfait and set aside 2 egg whites in a small lidded container,
label and freeze for a later use.
- Whip the heavy cream to stiff peaks and place in the fridge. Do not over whip.
- You will need a couple of heatproof bowls to fit over a saucepan of simmering water.
- Make sure the bottom of the bowls will not touch the hot water.
- Place the chocolate in the first bowl and place it over the simmering water and melt it.
- Remove the melted chocolate from the heat and set it aside.
- Next place the egg yolks, 3 Tbsp of sugar and the milk in the second bowl. Place it over the simmering water and whisk it vigorously until pale in color and thickened.
- Remove the bowl from heat and fold it into the melted chocolate and set it aside.
- Next whip the egg whites in a clean bowl until foamy and one by one add 4 Tbsp of sugar.
- Continue
whipping until the whites are stiff.
Finally fold in the chocolate mixture. - Transfer the parfait to a freezable container, cover and freeze for 4 hours.
- An hour before serving put the parfait in the fridge to soften it up. No, freezing it instead for 3 hours will not work. :-)
- Using a large serving spoon, place a scoop of parfait in bowls and serve.
- Return unused portion to the freezer.
