White Chocolate and Baileys Parfait with Coffee Crumble

Ice cream isn’t just for kids! This sophisticated parfait becomes extra delightful when frozen in homemade paper cones. It’s creamy and dreamy with rubbly crunch from pistachio and chocolate, and extra texture and flavour thanks to a coffee crumble condiment.

Thanks to my ace assistant Julie McKie for the recipe – find her at Wholefood Alchemist. I added a coffee crumble inspired by Darren Purchese, treasured contributor to my In the Mix cookbooks. He serves a similar crumb with his Caramelised White Chocolate Mousse with Passionfruit Curd. It is amazing.

The paper cones are fun to make – watch the video to see how. You’ll need about 2.5 metres (8 feet) of baking paper to make your cones.

Thinking Christmas? YES! They’re great for Christmas. See the Variations below for an extra Christmassy version!

People often ask: what’s the different between all the various frozen confections. Here’s a little primer:

• Ice cream: a frozen custard with milk, cream and egg, sometimes just yolk. Ice cream is generally churned during the freezing process to make it smooth, airy and creamy. Try my dairy-free Almond Milk Ice Cream.
• Parfait: usually made with cream and egg yolk but frozen as a mass rather than churned; parfaits are creamy and smooth but not necessarily airy. They can also be savoury and can be chilled not frozen (think chicken liver parfait, for example). In terms of desserts, parfait is often made with pate a bombe (sugar syrup whipped with egg yolks). Read about my investigation of Vegemite parfait at Heston Blumenthal’s Dinner restaurant.
• Sorbet: usually dairy-free and fruit based with an icy rather than creamy consistency (though pretty creamy when made in a Thermomix, especially if you add an egg white!) Try my Mango and Cardamom Sorbet.
• Semifreddo: this means ‘half cold’ in Italian and points to the notion that semifreddo has quite a soft texture, like a frozen mousse. It’s usually made with Italian meringue (sugar syrup whipped with egg whites). See Christy Tania’s amazing Cherry Semifreddo.

Makes: about 1 litre or 8 cones
Time: 30 minutes plus 6-8 hrs freezing

Method

Parfait

1. Place white chocolate in mixing bowl and chop 5 sec/speed 6.
2. Add 200 grams of the cream and melt 4 min/50°C (120°F)/speed 1. When white chocolate is melted, transfer mixture into another bowl. Scrape bowl out well; no need to wash.
3. Insert Butterfly whisk. Place yolks, eggs and sugar into mixing bowl and mix 3 min/80°C (175°F)/speed 3 or until pale and fluffy.
4. Turn to speed 3 and slowly add white chocolate mixture to egg mixture, mixing for about 1 minute. Turn mixture into a container and allow to cool completely in refrigerator. Clean and dry mixing bowl.
5. Place nuts and milk chocolate in mixing bowl and chop 2 sec/speed 7. Set aside.
6. Insert Butterfly whisk. Add remaining 400 grams cream and whip 20 sec/speed 4 or until soft peaks form.
7. Add reserved nuts and chocolate, cooled egg mixture and Baileys to mixing bowl. Combine 15 sec/speed 1 or until smooth.
8. To make the paper cones, cut 8 x 30cm squares of baking paper. Fold each square in half diagonally to form a triangle. Place a paper triangle in front of you with the centre point towards you. Curl the other two points towards you, turning them under where they meet the centre point to form a cone. Adjust the size of the cone by tightening or loosening the points. Staple or tape the cone securely to hold its shape and stand each cone in a tall glass or jar.
9. Pour parfait into cones. Place in freezer until firm.

Coffee Crumb

10. Preheat oven to 160°C/320°F.
11. Place all ingredients in mixing bowl and pulse Turbo/1 sec/2 times or until crumbly and combined.
12. Turn mixture onto a lined baking tray and bake for 20 minutes (160°C/320°F), stirring once after 10 minutes. Allow to
cool completely then store in an airtight container.

Tips

• Parfait can also be frozen in a log tin and served sliced or scooped. It can also be layered in glasses with coffee crumb.

Variations

• Use almonds or hazelnuts instead of pistachios
• Use Tia Maria instead of Baileys for extra coffee kick
• Make your own Baileys, thanks to Thermobliss.
• Add a teaspoon of vanilla paste, if desired
• Pour a little melted chocolate into the base of each cone for a choc-tipped dessert
• Christmas variation: turn your parfait into a frozen Christmas pudding by soaking 200 grams of mixed dried fruit (eg, cherries, cranberries, apricots, raisins) in brandy or Baileys for a few hours or overnight. Drain the fruit and stir it through the parfait mixture along with the pistachios and milk chocolate. Set parfait in a pudding bowl and turn out to serve. Instead of the coffee crumb (or as well), serve it with a simple berry coulis.

Want more great frozen desserts?

• Try Christy Tania’s incredible Cherry Semifreddo and Choc Top. You can also freeze the semifreddo in cones.
• Have you ever tried making sorbets with dry ice? It’s fun and a bit crazy. Have a look at Pierre Roelofs Cucumber, Lime, Mint and Yoghurt Sorbet and Donato Toce from Gelato Messina’s Passionfruit Sorbet.
• Try my dairy-free Almond Milk Ice Cream.
• Read about my investigation of Vegemite parfait at Heston Blumenthal’s Dinner restaurant.
• Try my Mango and Cardamom Sorbet.

More about this video

A girl’s gotta get dressed. Today I’m wearing Nancybird who do THE BEST wrap dresses.