Foodbuzz

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Emerald River Parfaits

One of my favorite flavor combinations is chocolate and mint.  Actually, it was also one of my grandmothers favorites. My grandmother on my mother's side of the family passed away prior to me being born so I never knew her.  It is funny what kind of traits you carry from generations past, even if you never met them.

Anyhow, the bottom layer of the parfait is a chocolate cream made with semi sweet chocolate and the top is made with white chocolate and mint.  The mint is derived from crushed Altoid mints.  This is a wonderful way to get a strong mint flavor infused into desserts.  I got the idea from David Lebovitzs' mint brownies.

This creamy dessert is a great way to end the meal.  It is definitely a recipe that I will make again. This recipe makes 4 dessert parfaits

Emerald River Parfaits
by flourtrader

Ingredients/Chocolate Layer
1/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 tbs and 1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 1/4 tsp unflavored powdered gelatin

Get out 4 wine glasses or any decorative glasses that hold 12 oz.  You will not be filling to the top, as shown in the picture above.

Place 1/4 cup and 2 tbs heavy cream in small bowl.  Sprinkle gelatin over top and push down with spoon to make sure it sinks.  Let stand for 7 minutes to soften.

Put remaining heavy cream ( 1 cup plus 2 tbs) and sugar in a saucepan over medium high heat.  Cook until mixture comes to a simmer.  Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips. Continue to stir until chips are melted and mixture is smooth.

Place pan back on heat and whisk in the gelatin/cream mixture.  Keep the heat low, for you do not want it to get to a simmer. Continue to stir until gelatin is dissolved.  Place a mesh strainer over a bowl with a pour spout.  Pour the chocolate mixture into the strainer.

Now it is time to fill the wine glasses.  Taking the bowl, pour some of the chocolate batter into a 1/3 measuring cup.  Then slowly pour it into the center glass, making sure that nothing drips on the outer edges.  Continue with this process, measuring out each addition for the next three glasses.  I kept measuring out even down to tablespoons to make sure the layer would be even for all 4 glasses.

Refrigerate for about 4 hours or until set.

Ingredients/Mint Layer
Same as chocolate layer except:
white chocolate chips replace semi sweet
include 2 tbs powdered Altoid mints (I used a blender to convert to powder)

Follow the instructions for the first layer above and add the powdered mints to the cream/sugar mixture prior to adding the white chocolate.

Pour the mint layer in the center of the glass, over the set chocolate layer.  Refrigerate another 4 hours or until set.

Optional: Prior to serving, garnish with sweetened whipped cream and an Andes Candie in the center of the cream.
                                     **LAST YEAR: Old Fashioned Cookies**