Today I am giving you not only a recipe for mixed berry parfait, but also a recipe that allows you to sing its very name to a Prince song.
I’m not kidding. Try it. Try singing ‘mixed berry parfait’ to the tune of Prince’s Little Red Corvette. It works. In fact I literally can’t think for a second about this mixed berry parfait without singing along to Prince. What can I say? I was a teenage fan. I still am.
Now this recipe wasn’t really my idea. We had friends coming over and I had planned on a Bakewell tart for pudding. I love a Bakewell. Who doesn’t? Well, my guests it turned out, as one of them can’t eat nuts. Thrown into some kind of mad menu planning turmoil I sent out a text to my friend Annie. Because she always knows what to do.
And this is what she came back with. A mixed berry parfait. It’s a genius idea. The brief was for something non nutty, make ahead and delicious. This mixed berry parfait is ALL of these things. It’s incredibly light, it sits in your freezer quietly, just lolling about until the moment you need it and then… bang, you can actually cut it almost straight from the freezer. Maybe give it 1 minute to soften. It was lovely. So thanks Annie.
(I do feel duty bound to admit that I served this with two other puddings, a white chocolate and lemon mousse plus mini brownies. I can only put this down to gluttony and the fact that this mixed berry parfait is so light I was worried it wouldn’t be filling enough. Annie would not have done this. But that explains why Annie is a size 6 – 8 and I am a size 14).
Lots of great recipes like this in my books, Recipes from a Normal Mum, (available on Amazon, at The Works, Waterstones, WHSmith, The Book Depository and many smaller outlets) and The Power of Frozen (available through Amazon).
One year ago: Homemade Oreos and Ombre cake and Lemon and coconut cake and Jaffa cakes and All my weaning recipes in one place
Two years ago: Carrot & almond layer cake and Pecan & hazelnut granola and Banana & toffee muffins and Lemon drizzle loaf
Three years ago: Lemon animal biscuits and Oatmeal & fudge cookies and 5 ways with the humble Victoria sponge
Four years ago: Octonauts cupcakes and Walnut, fudge and fleur de sel biscuits
Five years ago: Mutter paneer and Hot cross biscotti
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 8 - 10
- 17 beautiful frozen mixed berries, defrosted
- 380g frozen mixed berries, defrosted
- 125g egg whites (pasteurised Two Chicks ones)
- 110g icing sugar
- 200g double cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Defrost the berries and be careful to choose 17 or so pretty ones to lay across the top of the parfait. Set these aside and blitz the rest in a food processor. Pass this berry mixture through a sieve and retain the juice. Throw away the seeds left in the sieve. Line a 2lb loaf tin with clingfilm being careful to let some of the clingfilm overhang so you can fold it over to make a neat package at the end. Lay the pretty berries along the length of the tin. Next beat the egg whites to soft peaks with a whisk then add the icing sugar 1 tbsp at a time, whisking well after each addition. The result will be a stiff, white and glossy meringue. Set this aside and beat the double cream with the vanilla until thick. Gently fold the cream into the meringue with a metal spoon using a slicing action rather than beating. Fold through the berry puree gently. The mixture will deflate a little as you do this so don't over mix. Spoon the parfait mixture into the prepared tin and level with a spoon. Fold the clingfilm over the top and freeze overnight.
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Holly Bell 