Diana Henry writes the most delicious books. They are just scrumptious, filled with ideas that reflect Diana’s nuanced techniques and ingredient selections. Her foods have multiple layers and flavors that mingle, merge, and ultimately satisfy in a manner that bears her distinctive culinary signature. This recipe, from Roast Figs Sugar Snow, is typical: sautéed apples, caramel sauce, crumble toping and whipped cream with nuts are combined to fashion a dessert that does warm the soul.
This is a dessert for all seasons but it seems perfect now for our late winter nights. The recipe is Scandinavian and was originally titled Peasant Girls in a Mist. One bite and you’ll be misty eyed.
Apple Parfait
Yield: serves 6
Ingredients:
For the apple sauté:
- 4 large cooking apples [Golden Delicious, Cortland, Rome]
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons superfine sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¼ cup calvados or other apple brandy [optional]
For the caramel sauce:
- 1 cup sugar
- ¼ cup water
- ½ cup heavy cream, warmed
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Salt [optional]
For the crumble topping:
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 4 ounces wheat and rye bread, pulsed into bread crumbs
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
For the whipped cream topping:
- 1 ¼ cups heavy cream
- ¼ cup confectioners’ sugar
- Squeeze of lemon juice
- 1 ½ tablespoons toasted hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
Preparation:
Apple Sauté:
Peel and core the apples and cut them into chunks. Set aside
In a saucepan, melt the superfine sugar, lemon juice, and brandy. Cover and Cook over medium heat unit the sauce is amber color.
Stir in the apple chunks and cook until tender. Check for sweetness, you don’t want the apples too sweet. Remember the apples will be mixed with sweet cream and crumble topping when served in a bowl. When apples are done, remove from the pan and put them onto a cookie sheet pan to cool.
Caramel Sauce:
In a heavy saucepan [at least 5-cup capacity] stir together the sugar and water until the sugar is complete moistened. Heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar dissolves. Stop stirring completely and allow it to boil undisturbed until it turns a deep amber [380° F]. Immediately remove it from the heat and slowly and carefully pour the hot cream into the caramel. It will bubble up furiously.
Use a high-temperature heat-resistant rubber spatula or a wooden spoon with a long handle to stir the mixture until smooth, scraping up the thicker part that settles on the bottom. If any lumps develop, return the pan to the heat and stir until they dissolve. Stir in the butter. The mixture will be streaky but become uniform after cooling slightly and stirring.
Allow the sauce to cool for 3 minutes. Gently stir in the vanilla extract and sea salt if you are using.
Crumble Topping:
Melt the butter in a skillet and add the bread crumbs and the brown sugar. Sauté, stirring constantly over medium heat until the bread crumbs are golden. Add the cinnamon and continue to cook for about a minute. Let cool.
Whipped Cream and Finishing:
Whip the cream, adding the confectioners’ sugar and squeeze of lemon [add the lemon before the cream is too thick as the acid in the lemon has a thickening effect]. Then layer the stewed apples, bread crumble, and whipped cream mixture in a glass bowl, ending with a layer of cream. Scatter with the chopped hazelnuts. Or, use individual bowls and layer appropriately.
Source: Roast Figs Sugar Snow: Food to Warm the Soul by Diana Henry [Mitchell Beazley, 2014]
Photo Information: Canon T2i, EFS 60mm Macro Lens, F/4 for 1/30th second at ISO‑30