PARFAIT: French, literally, something perfect, from parfait perfect, from Latin perfectus.
We think of parfaits as that multi layered dessert of ice cream, fruit, and syrup topped with whipped cream, nuts and a maraschino cherry à la DQ.
There’s another, more sophisticated French parfait which is a luscious, creamy frozen custard dessert. Oli made this Sherry parfait for his family on New Years Eve in Reykjavik and the dessert was a huge hit. I didn’t celebrate in Reykjavik, but trust me, my friends and I have experienced this piece of heaven on earth and it IS the “perfect” dessert.
OLI´S SHERRY PARFAIT
This recipe makes 9 cups
Allow enough time to freeze, at least 10-12 hours before serving.
1 cup of crushed macaroons (Store bought)
2 tablespoons Sherry (Bristol Cream works nicely)
1 pint whipping cream
5 egg yolks
1 whole egg
1 cup sugar
1 cup finely chopped dates
1 cup finely chopped milk chocolate
1 cup raisins
1. In a small bowl soak macaroons in Sherry.
2. In large bowl of stand mixer whip cream until thick but still runny. Be careful not to whip too hard/long as you might end up with butter! Keep in mind that you will have to stir the cream again when you fold it into egg mixture. Put bowl with whipped cream in the fridge.
3. In another large bowl whip egg yolks, whole egg and sugar until very thick and light in color.
4. Gently stir in macaroons, dates, chocolate and raisins.
5. When evenly distributed use a rubber spatula to carefully fold in cream. The parfait is ready to freeze.
6. Spoon the mixture into a bowl, loaf pan, or decorative mold lined with plastic wrap. (The lining will make unmolding a snap.) Cover with plastic wrap and place in freezer.
Freeze for at least 10 – 12 hours.
7. To unmold simple invert and gently remove plastic wrap.
Serve with fresh fruits, a drizzle of chocolate sauce and more warm chocolate sauce on the side.
PURE NIRVANA!
All That Cooking 
Happy New year Oli and thank you for tremendously good dinner on New Year´s Eve here
in Reykjavik. Oli told me and his mother that he did not have time for dessert making so he
bought some icecreame in a shop nearby.
But when we tasted the “Icecreame” we knew Oli was joking as he often does, because this
was the famous Sherry Parfait, the best i have tasted and a dessert to die for.
Hi there Oli, the taste is delicious, very very good.
I have some questions though. In the recipe u use pint. We in Holland don’t know that measure.
we talk about liters and ml.
and what do U mean by a cup. I think I know, but a cup can be little or big, how much ml is a cup about. Maybe U think that cloggiegirl is nuts, but I only wonder. LOL
I enjoyed making it and we enjoyed eating it, thats not the problem at all. 🙂
I love to see more recipes and thank you! Marian
Hello Marian!
You raise a good point about converting to metric.
We will add a new page with conversion charts for our metric friends.
I’m sure it will make cooking life a lot easier for you.
So glad you enjoyed the parfait. It really is a luxurious indulgence, isn’t it?
. . . and easy to prepare.
Cheers,
Gina
Þetta sló alveg í gegn 😉
Rosalega gott!
Takk elskan, jú þetta var ekki sem verst. Það gæti bara allveg verið hugmynd að hafa þetta á sem áramóta rétt. Þetta er tilbreyting frá öllum þessum reykta mat sem er á boðstólunum og er mjög góður líka eins og við vitum. Annars væri gaman að gera Turducken líka einhvern tímann, það er sannkallaður áramótaréttur. 🙂