Deb’s Christmas ice-cream parfait

By Deb Quinn

Dec 20, 2022

Smells good: A tasty ingredient in many of Deb’s recipes come from her own garden. Photo by Rechelle Zammit

Treat for guests: Deb’s Christmas ice-cream parfait is a dish you can have ready in the freezer for unexpected guests. Photo by Deb Quinn

This is a great dessert to have on hand in the freezer (here’s one I made a little earlier). It has very Christmassy tones to it and goes down a treat after a big lunch. I make it every Christmas for family and visitors or just to have on hand for a summer dessert.

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A good friend gave me this recipe many years ago, I have just tweaked it a little. So, thanks Jules (and maybe Joan).

Ingredients:

600ml cream

4 egg whites

180g icing sugar sifted

60g toasted slivered almonds, crushed slightly

60g glacé pineapple

60g glacé pears

60g glacé cherries

100g glacé ginger

60g candied peel

1 dstsp (dessertspoon) brandy

1 dstsp mixed spice

1 tsp cinnamon

1 flat dstsp cocoa plus 1½ dstsp hot water to dissolve

1 tsp nutmeg

Garnish:

Fresh mixed berries to serve.

Fruits galore: Europa Deli stocks good quality glacé fruits. Photo by Deb Quinn

Method:

Toast the almonds in a non-stick pan on medium heat, make sure you keep an eye on them so they don’t burn. Toss around until they start to go golden (they can brown very quickly at this point). Once golden-brown set aside in a small bowl to cool.

Chop the glacé fruits into medium-sized pieces, mix with the chopped candied peel then add all the spices, pour the brandy over and mix through. Cover and allow to stand overnight (it doesn’t need to be in the fridge).

Overnight: Pour brandy over chopped glacé fruits and stand over night. Photo by Deb Quinn

Whip the cold cream in a medium bowl until medium to firm peaks form — don’t over whip or it will turn into butter — and add half the sugar. Beat egg whites in another clean dry bowl until stiff peaks form and add the remaining sugar. Blend both mixtures together by folding gently, add fruits and nuts and dissolved cocoa.

Pour into a 30cm x 15cm x 7cm loaf tin lined with plastic cling-wrap overlapping the sides. Cover with plastic cling-wrap and foil and place in freezer.

All mixed up: Parfait ready to invert on to your favourite plate. Photo by Deb Quinn

To serve, invert the parfait on to your favourite plate, and garnish with fresh berries macerated in a little Cointreau if you love it like me.

Deb’s tips:

• Europa Deli stocks good quality glacé fruits, and you can purchase just what you need by the weight/gram, so you don’t have any waste. If there is a glacé fruit that you don’t like, simply leave it out or substitute for one you like better.

• When cutting the glacé fruits, they can be a little sticky, so it’s a good idea to always keep your sharp knife clean and dry between cutting each fruit. Glacé ginger needs to be cut with the grain — if you cut against the grain it will be difficult because it gets stringy. Just turn it around and cut it with the grain, it is so much easier.

• When folding the ingredients, it’s important to use a wide wrist action to fold the ingredients gently. Fold by sweeping around the outside of the bowl then into the middle and around the outside again, so that you don’t expel all the air out of the mixture. Also, don’t over mix when incorporating the ingredients. The result will be much lighter and creamier.

• The measurements of the loaf tin are external measurements. These tins are easy to find in department stores and specialty shops.

• My husband says this ice-cream parfait is delicious (maybe even better) when it melts slightly.