Ok, it’s still a bit cold in Europe, but for my birthday I really fancied some Almond Parfait. Did I mention already that it has hot chocolate on top?

Almond Parfait is a naturally gluten free dessert, very popular in the western part of Sicily. Local almonds and chocolate make it absolutely irresistible! If you’ve never heard of it, just try it.
No oven needed because it’s a “semifreddo”, a cake that requires no cooking.

Ingredients (8 servings)

• 200 gr Almonds

• 200 gr Sugar

• 500 ml Whipped Cream

• 2 Eggs

• 150 gr Dark Chocolate

• Optional: 50 ml milk

1. Start by caramelizing the almonds. Some recipes use whole almonds, I suggest you to chop them slightly, just 2-3 seconds in the food processor, they don’t have to be grounded. In a pan, toast the almonds for a couple of minutes. Keep them over medium heat and stir constantly. Turn it down to low heat, add 80 gr of sugar and 2 table spoons of water and mix well until all he almonds are blended with the caramel. Let it cool down for at least 4 hours, better overnight.

2. To prepare the cream use 3 bowls. In the first, beat the two yolks with most of the sugar (120 gr). In the second, beat the egg whites with 30 gr of sugar, until firm. In the third, prepare the whipped cream.

3. Gently mix the 3 creams, and at last add the toasted almonds. Keep a few of them aside for garnishing. Make sure you stir the cream very very gently otherwise it will lose its volume.

4. Prepare the tin for freezing. The traditional shape would be a plum cake tin, cover it in cling film. Place the cream into the tin, cover the top and place in the freezer for 6 hours at least.

5. Take the tin out of the freezer at least 15 minutes before you want to serve the parfait. Melt the chocolate, optionally with some milk, pour a spoon of chocolate onto each serving, and enjoy!