Serves 4

Ingredients

For the parfait:

• 1 vanilla bean
• 200ml milk
• 5 egg yolks
• 100g sugar
• 500ml thin (pouring) cream
• 350g dark cooking chocolate

For the caramelised hazelnuts:

• 20g sugar
• 100g hazelnuts

For the pears:

• 1 lemon
• 2 pears
• 30g sugar

Method

For the parfait, slice the vanilla bean open lengthways and scrape out the seeds. Bring the milk, vanilla seeds and bean to the boil in a saucepan. Combine the egg yolks and the sugar in a mixing bowl. Quickly whisk the hot vanilla milk into the egg yolk mixture. Return the mixture to the saucepan and whisk until creamy over a low heat. Do not allow the mixture to boil or heat to more than 83°C.

Whip the cream until stiff. Finely chop the cooking chocolate and transfer it to a mixing bowl. Strain the egg yolk and milk mixture into the bowl through a fine sieve and stir to melt the chocolate. Set aside to cool, then fold in the whipped cream. Pour the parfait mixture about 2cm (¾ inch) deep into a freezer-safe container. Cover and freeze for about 12 hours.

For the caramelised hazelnuts, combine the sugar and 50ml water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the hazelnuts and stir continuously until the hazelnuts are coated in crystallised sugar and there is no more liquid left in the saucepan. Spread the nuts onto a baking tray to cool, then chop them coarsely.

For the pears, halve and juice the lemon. Wash and peel the pears and slice them lengthways about 1cm (½ inch) thick. Heat the sugar in a large frying pan or wide saucepan and allow it to caramelise slowly. Only stir when the sugar takes on too much colour. Keep shaking the pan. Add the sliced pears and brown on both sides. Deglaze with the lemon juice and take the pan off the heat. Leave the pears to cool in the syrup.

Slice the parfait, divide it among plates and leave it to stand briefly in order to soften. Garnish with the pears and a little pear syrup and top with the caramelised hazelnuts.

From Fairytale Cooking by Alexander Hoss-Knakal (£20, Murdoch Books) out now

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the caramel sauce:

• 80g sugar
• 250ml thin (pouring) cream
• 50ml milk

For the parfait:

• 60g sugar
• 300ml milk
• 100g white cooking chocolate
• 5 egg yolks
• 500ml thin (pouring) cream

Also:

• 1 ripe mango
• 1 tsp sea salt

Method

For the caramel sauce, heat the sugar in a large frying pan or wide saucepan (about 30cm/12 inches in diameter) and allow it to caramelise slowly. Only stir when the sugar takes on too much colour. Keep shaking the pan.

Heat the cream and milk separately. Add to the caramel and simmer gently until the caramel has dissolved. Set the sauce aside to cool.

For the parfait, caramelise the sugar using the method described above. Gently warm the milk until lukewarm, then stir into the sugar. Simmer until the sugar has dissolved.

Coarsely chop the cooking chocolate. Place in a bowl over a double boiler and melt slowly over a low heat.

Whisk the egg yolks until foamy in a bowl over a double boiler, making sure that the bowl does not touch the hot water and the egg yolks do not become any hotter than 70°C. Add the hot caramel and milk mixture and continue to whisk over a low heat for about 1 minute. Pass the egg yolk and caramel mixture through a sieve. Fold in the melted cooking chocolate and leave everything to cool.

Whip the cream until stiff, then fold it into the cooled parfait mixture. Line a loaf (bar) tin with baking paper. Transfer half of the parfait mixture to the tin, about 2cm (¾ inch) deep. Top with half of the caramel sauce, then add the remaining parfait mixture. Cover the tin and freeze the parfait for about eight hours.

Peel the mango and cut the fruit off the stone. Slice thinly. Cut the parfait into thick slices and garnish with the mango and remaining caramel sauce. Serve sprinkled with sea salt.

From Fairytale Cooking by Alexander Hoss-Knakal (£20, Murdoch Books) out now

Serves 4-5

Ingredients

• ½ gelatine sheet (titanium grade)
• 3 egg yolks
• 40g caster (superfine) sugar
• Seeds of 1 vanilla bean
• 100g white chocolate
• 220ml thickened (whipping) cream
• 20ml orange blossom water

Method

Line a 15 x 30cm cake tin with baking paper.

Soak the gelatine in cold water to soften.

Combine the egg yolks, sugar and vanilla seeds in a heatproof bowl and whisk over a saucepan of simmering water until fluffy to make a sabayon. Add the white chocolate and whisk until melted. Squeeze the excess water from the softened gelatine, add it to the sabayon and stir until dissolved and well combined.

Whip the cream until medium peaks form, then fold the cream into the sabayon, followed by the orange blossom water.

Pour the parfait mixture into the cake tin and freeze overnight. Line a tray with baking paper. Remove the frozen parfait from the tin and cut it into four or five even rectangles. Place the parfait slices on the tray and return them to the freezer to firm up.

Using a 6cm round cutter, cut four or five circles out of the parfait. Working quickly, use a 2cm round cutter to remove the centre of each parfait circle. Return the parfait rings to the freezer until ready to serve.

Notes: Add the finely grated zest of one orange and/or some finely chopped orange segments to the parfait mixture for extra texture. You can serve the parfait in slices if you don’t want to make ice-cream sandwiches.

To make the lime curd

Ingredients 

• 100ml lime juice
• Finely grated zest of 1 lime
• 65g unsalted butter
• 4 eggs
• 100g caster (superfine) sugar

Method

Combine the lime juice, lime zest and butter in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat until simmering. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs and sugar in a heatproof bowl until fluffy.

Whisk the hot lime and butter mixture into the egg mixture. Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Cook, stirring once every couple of minutes, until the mixture has thickened.

Transfer the hot lime curd to a jug and blend with an immersion blender until smooth. Pass the lime curd through a fine sieve and store it in a container in the fridge overnight.

To make the almond sablé

Ingredients

• 105g unsalted butter
• 80g caster (superfine) sugar
• 80g almond meal
• 200g plain (all-purpose) flour
• 2 pinches of salt
• 1 egg

Method

Preheat the oven to 170°C.

Combine the butter, sugar, almond meal, flour and salt in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until a sandy texture is formed, then add the egg and mix until a dough is formed.

Roll out the dough between two sheets of baking paper until it is
1–2mm thick. Transfer the paper and dough to a baking tray, then remove the top sheet of baking paper.

Bake the sablé for 15–17 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and immediately cut out eight or 10 rounds using a 6cm (2½ inch) round cutter. Allow the sablé to cool before separating the rounds from the excess sablé. Store the sablé rounds in an airtight container.

Note: Be sure to cut the sablé rounds as soon as the sablé comes out of the oven, otherwise it won’t be possible to cut. You can reserve the excess sablé to make a cheesecake base. It can be frozen for 3–4 months.

From The Dessert Game by Reynold Poernomo (£18.99, Murdoch Books) out now