Sicilian Almond Parfait with Warm Chocolate Sauce

Ingredients

• 500 ml heavy cream
• 3 egg yolks
• 2 egg whites
• 100 g granulated sugar
• 60 g powdered sugar
• 
  For the almond brittle:
• 200 g almonds with skin
• 200 g granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons water
• 
  For the chocolate sauce:
• 500 g dark chocolate
• 100 g water
• A pat of butter

Method

For the parfait:

• Prepare the almond brittle by melting 200 g of sugar with three tablespoons of water in a saucepan, stirring until completely dissolved.
• Add the almonds and stir quickly over the heat until the sugar begins to crystallize and form a white coating around the almonds.
• Remove from the heat, spread on parchment paper, let cool, then crush roughly with a meat mallet.
• Beat the yolks with 100 g of sugar.
• Beat the egg whites until stiff.
• Whip the heavy cream with 60 g of powdered sugar.
• Combine all mixtures in this order: fold the beaten egg whites into the yolk mixture, then fold in the whipped cream. After that, add the crushed almonds, mixing gently.
• Pour the mixture into a rectangular container (like a loaf pan) lined with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 6–8 hours.
• Half an hour before serving, move the parfait from the freezer to the fridge.

For the chocolate sauce:

• Place the chopped dark chocolate, the pat of butter, and the water in a bowl over a double boiler.
• Stir over the heat until you get a smooth, glossy liquid sauce.

Assembly:

• Serve the dessert sliced with a generous drizzle of hot chocolate sauce.

Cesarina Rosa Maria’s tip:

If you want to pasteurize the eggs, follow the whole-egg method: beat the whole eggs, then slowly pour in sugar syrup made with 100 g of sugar and 40 ml of water heated to 121°C.