Prune and Tokaji parfait

This is one of the best recipes that uses Tokaji, a sweet Hungarian wine, in a rich prune parfait easy desserts for the centerpiece of this dish. This is not a simple dessert to make - it requires cooking sous-vide, comprises 8 components and calls for a fair amount of preparation and cooking. The combination, however, is simply divine and is guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser.





Ingredients

Parfait

100g of prunes
100ml of Tokaji
4 egg whites
75g of caster sugar
1 1/2 bronze gelatine leaves
250ml of double cream, semi whipped
50ml of water
100g of praline paste

Prune cake

150ml of water
85g of dried dates
35g of bicarbonate of soda
75g of prune purée
1 egg
85g of caster sugar
25g of butter
85g of self-raising flour

Tokaji jelly

150ml of Tokaji
50ml of water
2g of agar agar

White chocolate ganache

5g of gelatine
1 egg yolk
15g of icing sugar
30ml of double cream
100g of white chocolate, chopped
160ml of whipping cream, semi whipped

Beurre noisette

200g of unsalted butter
100g of milk powder
25g of icing sugar

Mascarpone ice cream

100ml of water
1/2 lemon, juiced
50g of caster sugar
25ml of glucose
300g of mascarpone

Prune sabayon

300g of prunes, pitted
60ml of Calvados
1/2 vanilla pod
2 oranges, zested
2 lemons, zested
1/2 cinnamon stick
5 egg yolks
90g of caster sugar
10ml of water
50g of prune purée
175ml of whipping cream

Honeycomb

330g of caster sugar
140g of lavender honey
120ml of glucose
80ml of water
40g of bicarbonate of soda
To plate
200g of feuilletine


METHOD


For the prune sabayon, marinate the prunes for 20 hours with the calvados, vanilla pod, orange zest, lemon zest and cinnamon

Blend in food processor until smooth. Pass through a fine sieve. Reserve until needed

To make the parfait, soak the prunes in Tokaji in a large vac pac bag, overnight. Poach sous-vide at 85°C for 20 minutes. Drain and chop into small pieces. Soak the gelatine in cold water until floppy

Make a paté a bomb by placing the sugar and water into a small pan. Using a sugar thermometer heat the mix to 118ºC

Meanwhile whisk the egg whites in a mixer until soft peaks form. Slow the mixer speed to low, pour the hot sugar syrup over the whites and continue to whisk on high speed for 10 minutes

Dissolve the gelatine in 30ml of double cream over a low heat and add to the paté a bomb

Put the praline paste into a bowl. Fold in the semi whipped cream in three batches and then fold in chopped prunes. Spoon into a piping bag

Pipe into 8 x 60mm long and 15 mm in diameter cylindrical shaped freezer moulds. Keep in the freezer until serving

For the prune cake, heat the oven to 165°C/Gas mark 3

Bring the water to the boil and add the dates. Leave to simmer for 2 minutes, strain and then blend in food processor with the bicarbonate of soda and prune purée until the mixture is smooth

Pass it through a fine sieve with a plastic spatula to give a silky smooth purée

Whisk the egg and sugar in a mixer until pale and fluffy. Melt the butter then drizzle it into the mix and whisk until combined

Spoon in the date purée a small amount at a time and when combined, fold in the flour. Pour into a baking tray lined with silicone paper and cook for 10 - 15 minutes

Allow to cool and keep in the fridge until serving

For the jelly, place all the ingredients into a small pan and bring to a simmer for 2 minutes. Pass through a fine sieve onto a 50 x 30cm non-stick tray

Tilt the tray from side to side to allow the jelly to set evenly on the tray. When set, using a ruler and a pallet knife, cut into 16 tagliatelle-size strips

Transfer to a cling-filmed tray and keep refrigerated until serving
18.
For the ganache, soften the gelatine in cold water. Whisk the yolk and sugar in a bain-marie until light and fluffy

Melt the gelatine in the double cream. In a separate pan, melt the chocolate. Fold the cream into the melted white chocolate

Next, fold in the sabayon and finally fold in the semi whipped cream. Allow to set in the fridge. Once set, beat with a whisk until smooth and glossy

For the beurre noisette, melt the butter and bring it to foaming point. Stir in the milk powder and cook, continuously stirring until golden brown. Strain through a fine sieve onto a kitchen towel

Spread out to drain off the excess fat. When cool and crisp sprinkle with icing sugar. Keep in an airtight container until serving

For the mascarpone ice cream, bring the water, sugar, lemon and glucose to the boil. Simmer for two minutes. Remove from the heat and cool. Beat in the mascarpone

Put into an ice cream maker and churn. Once frozen, put into a freezer container and freeze. Be careful not to go too cold (not below -5°C or the mascarpone will split

Return to the sabayon. Whisk the yolks in a mixer until pale and white. In a small pan, bring the sugar and water to 118°C. Pour over the yolks and whisk to combine. Allow to cool and thicken

Fold in the reserved prune purée. Semi-whip the cream and fold it in in three batches. Transfer to a container and refrigerate until serving

For the honeycomb, in a heavy based pan, heat the sugar, honey, glucose and water until it melts together and then cook to a light caramel

Take off the direct heat and sprinkle in the bicarbonate of soda. Whisk for 3-5 seconds then pour onto a silicone mat and allow to cool

Heat the oven to 180°C/Gas mark 4

Crush the honeycomb to a fine powder. Sprinkle through a fine sieve onto a greased silicone mat in a very thin layer. Bake for 30 seconds, until melted

Remove carefully from the mat while still hot. Store in an airtight container until serving

To serve, lay out 8 plates. Remove the prune and Tokaji parfait from the moulds. Roll the feuilletine between two pieces of baking paper. Roll in the feuilletine crumb to coat. Place a cylinder on each plate

FEUILLETINE

This is a like a crunchy crepe and can be bought from fine food suppliers

Crumble the prune cake around and lay Tokaji jelly strips over. Pipe 3 dots of white chocolate ganache on and sprinkle with beurre noisette

Spoon a small amount of prune sabayon on and garnish with a shard of honeycomb crisp. Lastly quenelle the mascarpone ice cream and serve immediately