Parfait

Parfait is a tasty and delicious dessert that takes very little time to prepare as it usually just requires some mixing and layering and a little bit of work as far as presentation goes. Parfait is usually made with yogurt, cream, cream cheese, sugar and then a mixing of whatever toppings you are looking to enjoy with your parfait. What makes a parfait beautiful and fun is the unique way it’s layered in a glass so that you can see all the components of the dish. This is also part of why it’s such a great dessert - once you know the basic recipe for making the yogurt or cream aspect of the parfait you can mix and match all the other ingredients to suit your liking or the tastes of other people you might be serving.

Parfaits come in all shapes and sizes and there are lots of different varieties and unique combinations when it comes to parfait recipes. Some of them are made simply with yogurt, a bit of honey, and some granola, others include Mascarpone cheese, confectioners sugar, and exotic fruits. For our purposes here we’re going to find some middle ground with a basic parfait recipe that you can tailor to your liking by switching out main components to ones you’d prefer more or substituting different fruits or garnishes and so forth. Here’s what you’ll need:

one half a cup of cream cheese
one half a cup of heavy whipping cream
three tablespoons of powdered sugar
one half a teaspoon of vanilla
a large assortment of fresh berries
one to two cups of granola (depending on how much you like)

All you have to do is combine the cream cheese, cream, sugar, and vanilla together and  beat them until it’s smooth and thick. Then you’ll want to sprinkle some granulated sugar on your berries in a separate bowl and mix them around so that they will start to release their juices. After you’ve let the berries sit for a little while you can begin to layer your parfait. You’ll want some tall pretty glasses to put them in but ones that aren’t too narrow because this makes it difficult to eat your parfait. Start with a few berries at the very bottom and then place an inch or so of your cream cheese mixture on top of those, cover that with some granola and then add more berries on top. Continue with your layering until you’ve filled most of the glass and then top it with a few berries and some sprinkled powdered sugar if you like. The colorful berries balanced out with the white cream and brown granola makes a lovely combination that everyone will be sure to enjoy.

If you’re looking for variations you can make chocolate parfait by adding some melted chocolate to your cream cheese mixture and topping it with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. You can also do a “strawberry cheesecake parfait” by using graham crackers instead of granola, layering it with strawberries and cream cheese that has been mixed with a bit of milk, sugar, and a touch of lemon juice. There are plenty of other varieties as well like lemon parfait, pineapple parfait, peanut brittle parfait, ginger parfait, apple pie parfait, blueberry parfait and lots more. Just get creative and see what kind of unique and yummy combinations you can come up with.