Pistachio Nougat Parfait

• total time: Overnight

Ingredients

FOR THE PARFAIT

100g pistachios

25g/ml cherry brandy or brandy

100g dried sour cherries

400g/ml heavy cream

4 eggs

100g granulated sugar

100g honey

50g light corn syrup (or honey, if you can't get any light corn syrup)

2-3 tbsp water

FOR THE PISTACHIO PASTE

200g pistachios

30g granulated sugar

Directions

Roast 100g of pistachios for 10 minutes at 375°F/ 350°F convection.

Pour the brandy over the sour cherries in a bowl and leave to soak.

Line an 9” by 5” inch loaf tin with cling film or greaseproof paper (I use two strips set at right angles, one lengthways and one widthways), allowing enough excess that the lining overhangs on all sides. Or make life easier and use a silicone mold if you have one, as it requires no lining at all.

Lightly whip the cream until it forms ribbons-it needs to be very soft-whipped, so be careful not to overwork it. Chill in the fridge until needed.

Put the eggs in a mixer with a whisk attachment and start whisking at a slow- medium speed.

Combine the sugar, honey and light corn syrup in a small saucepan, then mix in enough of the water to create a wet paste.

Moisten your finger or a brush with some water and run it around the sides of the pan to clean away any sugar crystals, then set on a high heat to bring to a rapid boil. Don't be tempted to stir it. If you have a sugar thermometer, use it now; you need to bring the mixture up to "hard- ball" stage (250°F). If you don't have one, you can judge this by eye; boil for about 2-3 minutes until the bubbles become bigger and the mixture starts to thicken but doesn't color.

Whisk the hot sugar syrup into the eggs in a slow, steady stream, then increase the speed to high and whisk for about 10 minutes until very fluffy and partially cooled. You can check whether it is cool enough by placing your hands on the mixing bowl; it should feel slightly warmer than your palms. This mixture will form a nice strong base for your parfait.

While the base is whisking, grind 200g of pistachios in a food processor with 30g of sugar for 1-2 minutes until the nuts start to produce oil and become a little wet.

Stir in some of the parfait base to loosen, then fold into the rest of the fluffy egg mixture to combine.

Next fold in the soft-whipped cream, then add the roasted pistachios and soaked cherries (plus soaking liquid) and stir to distribute evenly throughout.

Pour the mixture into the lined loaf tin and fold the overhang over the top to cover; if using a silicone mold, cover with a piece of cling film or greaseproof paper.

Set in the freezer for at least 12 hours. This keeps well for up to a month.

To serve, peel the cling film or greaseproof paper off the top and flip the parfait onto a chopping board. Lift the loaf tin off and carefully peel away the lining (you don't have to worry about this if you are using a silicone mold).

Dip a large, sharp knife in boiling water (to give you a clean, smooth finish) and use to cut one slice per person

(I allow about one tenth each). Accompany with some fresh cherries in season or, if you want to take this to the next level, pour over some dark chocolate sauce (from the hazelnut milk pudding recipe on page 248) ... mmmm.

Notes

From: ‘Golden Sweet & Savory Baked Delights from the Ovens of London’s Honey & Co.’ by Itamar Srulovich & Sarit Packer