Midway between a mousse and an ice-cream, a correctly prepared parfait has a very light and creamy consistency which resists straying into the territory of frozen desserts thanks to the addition of alcohol, in the case of this week's recipe Grand Marnier.
Parfaits are ideal for dinner parties since you can prepare them in advance – but make sure you take them out of the freezer 15 minutes before serving.
For this recipe you will need six stainless-steel rings measuring 6cm-7cm wide by 5cm deep.
Grand Marnier parfait with poached mandarins
Serves 6
Parfait
100g caster sugar
5 egg yolks
250ml double cream, semi whipped to soft peaks
25ml Grand Marnier
1 leaf gelatin
Place the sugar in a saucepan with 3tbsp cold water. Checking the temperature with a sugar thermometer, boil the sugar to soft ball stage (119C-120C) then remove it from the heat.
Meanwhile, whisk the yolks using a food mixer until light and fluffy.
Slowly pour the hot sugar over the yolks and continue to whisk for 5 minutes so they become pale and thickened.
Dissolve the gelatin in a pan with a little of the cream over a gentle heat, then fold the cream and gelatin into the egg and sugar mixture (called a sabayon) followed by the Grand Marnier.
Tightly cling-film the bottom of the stainless-steel rings so the parfait won't spill out. Fill the rings with the mix and transfer to the freezer to set for at least 2 hours.
Poached mandarins
100g sugar
50ml water
50ml Cointreau
6 mandarins, peeled
6 sprigs of mint
Boil the sugar, water and Cointreau together in a pan until the sugar has dissolved.
Segment the mandarins and place them in a bowl, pour the hot syrup over them then leave them to cool.
To serve, rub the outside of the metal rings in your hands, which should allow the parfait to slide out on to the centre of a plate. Arrange the mandarin segments around the parfait and finish with a sprig of mint.
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