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Simple Parfait
Into half a pint of heavy cream put two tablespoonfuls of confectioners' sugar, two tablespoonfuls of cocoa and a teaspoonful of essence of coffee. Whip the mixture until thick. Line parfait glasses with lady fingers, or thin slices of sponge cake, and fill with the cream. Decorate with halves of walnuts, or a candied cherry, with tiny leaves of angelica.
A no-cook assembly that depends entirely on how the cocoa is handled before whipping. Everything else is decoration.
- Half a pint of creamOne cup (about 240 ml) of heavy or whipping cream. It will roughly double, giving enough for two generous or three modest glasses.
- Sift the dry ingredientsCocoa clumps and refuses to dissolve in cold cream, leaving gritty specks. Sift the confectioners' sugar and cocoa together, whisk them into a few spoonfuls of the cream to make a smooth slurry, then add the rest and whip.
- Essence of coffeeA concentrated coffee extract or flavouring syrup, sometimes sweetened; closest today to coffee extract or an espresso syrup. A teaspoon of instant espresso powder dissolved in a scant teaspoon of hot water and cooled works in its place.
- CocoaUnsweetened cocoa powder, not drinking chocolate or a cocoa mix. Dutch-process gives a darker colour and milder flavour; natural cocoa tastes sharper against so little sugar.
- Whip until thick, not stiffStop at soft, holding peaks. Cocoa-laden cream firms up further as it sits, and overwhipped cream turns grainy and weeps in the glass.
- Not a frozen parfaitDespite the name this is never frozen. Chill the bowl and beaters, assemble cold, and serve within an hour or two before the lady fingers go fully soggy.
- AngelicaCandied angelica stem, bright green and sold cut in strips; look for it with cake decorations or at a baking supplier. A strip of candied lime peel is the nearest stand-in for the colour; candied citron peel will do for texture but not for green.
Parfait is simply French for "perfect," and in nineteenth-century French kitchens it meant a rich frozen cream, moulded and served in slices. American usage loosened it to mean anything layered in the tall, narrow footed glass, and by the early twentieth century a "parfait" on a home menu was as likely to be whipped cream and cake as anything from an ice cave. The recipe needs no oven and no custard stirred over heat. It finishes with lady fingers, walnut halves, and a candied cherry with angelica, offering a choice of two garnishes.