Food.
Just saying.
Was round at friends last night for supper woke up this morning still thinking about the fabulous food we ate. If I were to say to you ginger parfait and you like food. You’d get it. How delicious does that sound even early on a Sunday morning? Exactly.
This one landed in my tum courtesy of Phoebe the talented young foodie daughter of our pals who whipped it up. Phoebe will have her own food show one day I have no doubt. As an obsessive recipe collecter I am the sort of saddo who wanders through peoples kitchens clutching a pencil and a piece of A4 to write down anything I see or taste. So I had it written down the ginger parfait recipe before Phoebe could say’ put your spoon down and leave the kitchen you are scaring me’ and no I am off to get the ingredients right now as we have the family coming round for Sunday lunch and the Bramble Crumble I have made is just not going to cut the mustard.
It’ll be the perfect foil to the main constituent of todays lunch – a great pot of beef stew. Been on for 3 hours and is melt in the mouth delicious – she said modestly. I fired in a cinammon stick and a star anise with a sprinkling of English Mustard and frankly it is delicious. I am serving it with puff pastry top, yorkshire puds – cos I love them, creamy mashed potatos and a heap of buttery greens. But now the stew gets second billing the parfait is the star of the show. If you fancy it…here it is.
White Chocolate and Ginger Parfait with Dark Chocolate Sauce
225g (8oz) white chocolate, chopped
600ml (1 pint) double or regular cream
125ml (4 ½ fl oz) milk
10 egg yolks
15g (1/2 oz) caster sugar
125ml (4 ½ fl oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
75g (3oz) crystallised or stem ginger, finely chopped
For the Dark Chocolate Sauce:
200ml (7fl oz) double or regular cream
125g (4 ½ oz) dark chocolate, chopped into small bits
13 x 23cm (5 x 9in) loaf tin
Method
Line the loaf tin with a double layer of cling film, allowing extra to come over the sides as this will be wrapped over the top as a lid later.
Place the white chocolate and 300ml (1/2 pint) of the cream in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water on a low heat. Stir gently until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Put to one side.
Heat the milk and the remaining cream in a saucepan, stirring all the time, until it is just about to boil, then take off the hob.
In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks and the caster sugar until thick and pale. Then, while continuing to whisk, pour the hot cream and milk mixture gradually into the yolks.
Pour the egg mixture into the saucepan and cook over a gentle heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat and add the melted chocolate, the condensed milk and vanilla extract. Mix well and allow to cool.
Spread the ginger over the bottom of the loaf tin to cover completely. Gently pour the parfait mixture on top of the ginger and cover the top with the extra cling film. Freeze overnight.
To make the chocolate sauce, pour the cream into a small saucepan and bring to the boil, then removed from the heat and add the chocolate bits, stirring as they melt.
Put the parfait in the fridge 10 minutes before serving. Then turn out of the loaf tin and serve in slices with a drizzle of the chocolate sauce.
This recipe is from the book ‘Rachel Allen: Entertaining at Home’, published by Harper Collins.
