frozen desserts – My Whisk and I

6 egg whites
62ml + 62ml caster sugar
500ml cream
250ml chopped mixed nuts
125g mixed dried fruit
125g red and green glacé cherries

Line a baking tin with a 1 litre capacity (or a Tupperware container) with plastic wrap or baking paper.
Add the egg whites to a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric whisk until it forms soft peaks.
Add a teaspoonful of the 62ml caster sugar while whisking. Wait for the sugar to be incorporated (about 30 seconds) before adding the next teaspoonful. Keep going until all of the sugar has been incorporated. Set aside.
Pour the cream into another mixing bowl and add the other 62ml caster sugar all at once.
Beat the cream until it forms stiff peaks.
Spoon about a third of the cream mixture into the egg white mixture and fold through with a large metal spoon.
Add the rest of the cream and fold it in until incorporated.
Sprinkle the chopped nuts, dried fruit and half of the cherries over and fold it in to the mixture.
Arrange the other half of the cherries on the bottom of your prepared container.
Spoon the mixture into the container and lightly level it out.
Place the cassata in the freezer until frozen.
Serve in slices with or without a sauce.

To store leftover, cover the cassata with plastic wrap and place back in the freezer as you would with ice cream.

A parfait is a cream-based, frozen dessert. The difference between and ice cream and parfait is that an ice cream has air whipped into it while it freezes and a parfait has air whipped into it and only then is it frozen!! It is a bit of a cheffy dessert but follow the instructions closely and you are guaranteed a very popular dessert!!

160g dark chocolate, chopped (I use DeVilliers chocolate that has a 70% cocoa solid content!!)
6 egg yolks (make meringue/pavlova with the whites)
250g caster sugar
30ml cocoa powder
400ml double cream

300g fresh berries
30ml icing sugar

Prepare a 20cm x 11cm loaf tin by lining it with baking paper.
Add the chocolate to a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water and allow the chocolate to melt completely.
Take it from the heat and set aside to cool slightly but leave the saucepan of water at a very low simmer.
Add the egg yolks and sugar to a mixing bowl and beat together until combined.
Pour the egg mixture into the cooled melted chocolate and put the bowl back over the saucepan with simmering water.
This is the tricky part: Beat the mixture with an electric whisk for 3 minutes until the sugar has dissolved completely and you are left with a very thick mixture. You have to keep beating the mixture or the egg will cook or even worse, the chocolate will seize!! Dont despair….if you whisk continuously the mixture will be fine.
Remove from the heat and sift in the cocoa powder. Fold in with a metal spoon.
Pour the cream into a clean mixing bowl and whip to soft peaks.
Fold the cream into the chocolate mixture in three batches.
Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf tin, cover with plastic wrap and freeze overnight.
Remove the parfait from the freezer about 20 minutes before you want to serve it. Turn it out onto a serving platter, remove the paper and heap the berries on top.
Sift with icing sugar to serve.

Tag: frozen desserts

Cassata

Chocolate Parfait with Fresh Berries