America, do you know what time it is? It’s summertime. And do you know what we do in the summertime? We eat strawberry parfaits. See, normally we would avoid celebrating a dessert at all costs because we do that enough already, but then we realized it has actually been more than a month since we celebrated the parfait — May 1 was Chocolate Parfait Day — so here we are. What’s too bad, though, is that we already used the whole parfait-means-perfect-in-French line, and we’re too proud to use the same clever introduction twice. So instead we’ll just skip straight to the part where we tell you how delicious this recipe is and how you would be silly not to use it. [photo via foodnetwork.com]
This recipe is delicious and you would be silly not to use it. The American-style parfait is a tad simpler than the traditional parfait, which makes things a lot easier on moms. Instead of using sugar syrup, egg, cream, alcohol, and then freezing the mixture for the perfect amount of time — that was exhausting to type, let alone to create — we Americans tend to stick with the simple combination of granola, fruit, cream, yogurt, nuts, pudding, and/or flavored gelatin. Or, if you’re a fast-food restaurant, you’ll just throw together some yogurt, fruit, and granola and call it a day. Actually, that’s not a bad idea.
Still, if you’re willing to spend just a little more time on your parfait today, then this recipe will come in handy. It falls somewhere in between the fast-food version and the French version, and who doesn’t love a good compromise? Well, your kids, probably. But we promise they’ll like this parfait.
This recipe–courtesy of the Food Network–makes four servings and takes only a few minutes to prepare. That’s right, folks — it takes only a few minutes. No more slaving away on eight-layer cakes or whatever masterpiece you were planning on creating today. It’s time to get simple. And, what’s more, the recipe is easy to double or triple depending on the size of your family or, well, the size of your family’s appetite.
Oh, and if you’re really trying to impress everyone, use dessert glasses — because you definitely have those — so you can see the layers of fruit and cream. But it doesn’t really matter what you serve these strawberry parfaits in, anyway. They’re perfect — or should we say parfait? — and delicious no matter what.
Ingredients
- 1 one pound bag frozen unsweetened strawberries (thawed)
- 2 tbsp sour cream
- 1 cup (scant cup) chilled heavy whipping cream
- 8 two inch vanilla meringue cookies (coarsely broken into about two cups)
- 2 two inch vanilla meringue cookies (halved)
Directions
- In a medium bowl using a potato masher or fork, mash the berries and any juices into a chunky sauce.
- Place the sour cream in a one cup measuring cup. Add enough chilled heavy cream to fill the cup completely.
- Scrape the cream mixture into a deep medium bowl. Beat the mixture until thick and stiff with a handheld electric mixer. Fold in the broken meringues.
- Divide the sauce in half and spoon into the bottom of four serving bowls or glasses.
- Divide the cream mixture in half and spoon on top of the sauce. Repeat the layers using the remaining sauce and cream mixture.
- Top each parfait with a meringue cookie half and serve immediately.
