Chocolate Cherry Ganache Parfaits

Velvety smooth layers of cherries & chocolate ganache, sprinkled with crumbled amaretti biscuits, topped with Amaretto spiked mascarpone then finished off with more crumbs for texture.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Modern Australian

Total Time 55

Servings

Calories 1012kcal

Author Lee-Ann Grace

Ingredients

350 g frozen cherries
⅓ cup caster sugar
1 ½ teaspoon lemon juice
1 tbsp. cornflour
1 tbsp. cold water
½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste
200 g dark eating chocolate
250 ml pure cream
120 g amaretti biscuits divided
250 g mascarpone cheese softened
2 tbsp. Amaretto liqueur

Instructions

**I used 4 stemless wine glasses for this recipe & photo - 500ml or 2 cups total capacity**
Place cherries, sugar & lemon juice in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves & the cherries have defrosted and softened slightly.
Combine cornflour & water to form a thin paste, add to cherry mixture and mix to combine.
Bring cherry mixture to the boil, and simmer for 2 minutes.
Remove from heat, stir in vanilla & allow to cool slightly.
Divide cherry mixture evenly between glasses & place in freezer to chill for 15-20 mins.
Bring the cream to the boil in a small saucepan over medium heat.
Once boiling - remove from heat & add chocolate - mix until chocolate is melted & no lumps remain.
Place chocolate mixture in a heatproof bowl, cover & place in freezer for 10-15 mins to cool.
Mix together mascarpone & Amaretti liqueur, place in a plastic bag (for piping) and refrigerate until needed.
Crush amaretti biscuits (I do this by hand) see note.
Remove cherry mixture from freezer, and carefully spoon chocolate ganache evenly over cherry mixture.
Top with 80g amaretti biscuit crumbs , divided evenly between glasses.
Snip one corner off the plastic bag containing mascarpone mixture - pipe mascarpone evenly into glasses.
Sprinkle with remaining amaretti crumbs, and serve immediately.

Notes

The glasses I used for this recipe & photo were 500ml / 2 cup (total capacity) stemless wine glasses. You could of course use any glass/jars you like, but I wouldn't use smaller than 350ml / 11/2 capacity or you will have trouble fitting the layers in and they would be tricky to eat.

As you can see from the photo I don't like to crush the biscuits to total dust! I like to keep them with some texture - not just sand!

When putting the glasses/jars in the freezer try to keep them level - this will give you more even/neater layers.

When spooning the cherry mixture into the glasses - the mixture will naturally settle in the bottom of the glass quite neatly.

You could partially make this dessert ahead - make as per recipe up to the end of step 10 - skip step 11 - then complete steps 12 & 13 then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed. When you want to serve - take the mascarpone out of the fridge for a few minutes (this will make it easier to pipe) then crush the biscuits and start back at step 13.

You don't have to use amaretti cookies/biscuits - I .chose them because I think the almond flavour of the cookies goes well with the cherries. You could use another kind of cookie/biscuit.

*Please note that the amount of calories per serve is provided as a guide only, as ingredients and cooking methods can vary greatly*

Nutrition