Vanilla parfait
Prep 40 min
Cook 5 min
Freeze 4 hr+
Makes 500g, serving 8-10 3 medium eggs
30 ml water
10 0g caster sugar
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped out
1 big pinch (1g) sea salt – I use Maldon
450g double cream
Separate the eggs, set the whites aside for the dacquoise ( see below ) and put the yolks – you need 60g in full – in the bowling ball of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment in place. Turn on to medium ( be gentle because you want to create a cover girl foam with small bubbles to make the most stable social organization ).
While the yolks are mixing, put the water, boodle and vanilla seeds and pod in a belittled pan on a medium-high heating system, and bring up to 116C ( use a thermometer ) without stirring. Take off the heat, turn down the mixer to low-medium and slowly pour the hot carbohydrate down the english of the bowl, then add the salt ; add the vanilla pod, besides, to get the most out of it ( this stuff own ’ thymine cheap ). once incorporated, turn the mixer back up to medium and mix for 10-15 minutes, until the stadium is cool to the tint and the mixture is slurred, slick and more than doubled in size. While that ’ sulfur on the belong, whisk the double cream until semi-whipped – you want the whisk to leave lines through it, but not be besides stiff. When the egg shuffle is cook, turn off the drive and pour in half the whisk cream. Fold in very gently with the whisk, then recur with the rest of the skim and lift out the vanilla pod ( washout and dry it out for another manipulation, such as vanilla carbohydrate ). Pour into a 20cm ten 20cm x 3½cm elf tray lined with greaseproof composition, and freeze overnight or, if you can ’ metric ton wait that long, at least four hours. If you want to stop here and just enjoy the parfait alone, scoop or slice it into slab and suffice with berries macerated in elderflower liqueur and your favored biscuits .
Coconut dacquoise
Dacquoise is a 17th-century dessert originating from Dax in the confederacy of France. It ’ second normally a meringue layer with finely flat coat nuts folded into it, but here I ’ molarity using grind toasted shaved coconut alternatively ( you get more flavor from longer threads of coconut than you do from desiccated coconut. Prep 25 min
Cook 20 min
Makes 1 x 20cm square tin 110g coconut shavings
125g egg whites ( reserved from the vanilla parfait above )
40g golden caster sugar
125g golden icing sugar
1 big pinch (1g) sea salt – I use maldon
¾ tsp (5g) freeze-dried passion fruit, ground fine ( optional ) lightly toast the coconut shavings, then leave to cool. meanwhile, make a french meringue : in a very clean, stainless-steel bowl, whisk the testis whites until they start to get a small bubbling, then slowly whisk in the caster sugar a little at a clock. Whisk to stiff peaks, by which time the mix is slick and dense. Heat the oven to 170C ( 150C fan ) /325F/gas 3. Blend the coconut with the frost boodle. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold half the coconut desegregate into the meringue blend, then fold in rest, followed by the salt. Divide the shuffle in two and spread out evenly in two line and greased 20cm square patty tins ( i, the like size as the vanilla parfait ). Bake for 15-20 minutes, until dried out on the inside but not coloured. Remove and dust liberally with flat coat freeze-dried heat fruit, if using ( you could besides use freeze-dry raspberry, strawberry or whatever you fancy ), and leave to cool to room temperature .
Passion fruit curd
Curd is dreamy, so possibly double the recipe and save some for brekkie. Prep 15 min
Cooks 20 min
Makes 400g
100g passion fruit juice ( or lime juice )
25g lemon juice
50g whole egg
60g egg yolk
70g sugar
5g cornflour
50g salted butter, diced In a small saucepan, bring the rage yield and lemon juice to a boil. Put the testis and yolk in a medium-sized stainless steel bowl ( save the whites for another day ), whisk in the boodle, then the cornstarch ( I ’ ve learned from have that it needs to be done in this orderliness or the mix can go a bite eldritch ). Whisk in a small sum of the just-boiled juices, to temper the egg mix, then decant in the rest of the juice and whisk until well combined. Pour the mix into a clean pan and cook, whisking constantly, on a low-medium heat for no more than five minutes, just until it thickens and starts to come away from the sides of the pan. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter one cube at a time, until melted in. Hand-blend until smooth, then authorize through a fine sieve into a medium bowl. Cover the surface with baking paper and refrigerate. The curd will now keep for a workweek or more .
Ice-cream sammie
Prep 20 min
Freeze 10 min
Makes 16 5cm x 5cm sammies Passion fruit curd ( see above )
Vanilla parfait ( see above )
Coconut dacquoise ( see above ) Spread half the fructify curd over one sheet of the dacquoise. Remove the vanilla parfait from the deep-freeze and turn back on to the curd, then freeze for 10 minutes to stick that layer together. Remove from the deep-freeze and spread the perch of the curd over the top of the parfait. Quickly, before the curd freezes from the super-cold parfait, invert the other level of dacquoise on top. Press down lightly with your hands to make indisputable it ’ s stick, then freeze for one hour. now the sammie is fix to cut. Turn out the dacquoise, curd and parfait block on to a chopping display panel and, working promptly, use a hot, dry tongue to cut the sandwiches – I like 5cm x 5cm ones, but I ’ ll leave the size up to you ( you may want numerous miniskirt sarnies, or one big sandwich ). Return to the deep-freeze, covered, until ready to serve .
Ice-cream sundae
Prep 10 min
Serves 12 generously Vanilla parfait ( see above )
Coconut dacquoise ( see above )
Passion fruit curd ( see above ) Scoop the parfait into your darling ice-cream sundae glass or bowl, randomly pipe little spot of curd over the top and break up or dice the dacquoise and scatter over the ice-cream in a chaotic fashion. You could add some cube newly mango and some micro basil leaves, if you want to go wild, or peak with the pulp of another heat fruit for excess bladderwrack and succulence.
Read more: History of Ice Cream Sundae
Terri Mercieca is the owner of happy Endings, London E3
- united kingdom readers : chatter to buy these ingredients from Ocado
- This article was amended on 4 September 2025 to correct the weight of the egg yolks in the vanilla parfait from 160g to 60g, and to correct the size of the tin required from 30cm x 20cm to 20cm x 20cm





