In the Oven: Simple Blueberry Parfaits

A simple, refreshing summer dessert! And no pudding this week. :) Posting date is July 15.

Simple Blueberry Parfaits
recipe source: Baked Explorations by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito, p. 186
serves: 4

INGREDIENTS

4 to 6 ounces vanilla wafers, depending on how thick you want to make your wafer layer
2 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
1/4 cup Grand Marnier
1 teaspoon orange juice
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon confectioners’ sugar, sifted
Freshly grated zest of 1 orange for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

Choose four clear, wide-mouthed glasses for serving. Put the vanilla wafers in a food processor and pulse them into coarse crumbs.

In a small saucepan, combine 1 1/4 cups of the blueberries and the Grand Marnier. Cook over medium heat until the blueberries break down, about 5 minutes. Let them cool to room temperature. (If you’re in a hurry, put the mixture in the refrigerator to cool it quickly.)

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream on medium speed for 1 minute. Sprinkle the confectioners’ sugar over the cream, turn the mixer to high, and beat until soft peaks form.

Add 3/4 cup of the fresh blueberries and the orange juice to the room-temperature blueberry syrup and stir until combined.

Sprinkle about a tablespoon of the crumbled vanilla wafers to cover the bottom of each glass, top with a heaping tablespoonful of the blueberry mixture, then top that with a dollop of whipped cream. Continue to layer until you fill
the glasses or until you run out of ingredients. Garnish with the remaining 1/2 cup blueberries and finish each parfait with a sprinkle of orange zest. Serve immediately.

Excerpted from Baked Explorations: Classic American Desserts Reinvented by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito. Copyright © 2010 by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito. Excerpted by permission of Stewart, Tabori & Chang, an imprint of Abrams. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.