This time of year, we are usually in Texas with my in-laws, making tamales and enjoying the warm weather. And last week, we would have been in Massachusetts with my side of the family, making latkes and trudging around the perimeter of the house in the snow looking at the brightly lit menorahs – each strategically placed in an outward facing window, the flickering candles punctuating our circular trek in the darkness, our voices giddy and festive.
This year, of course, we stayed put in New Jersey – the flicker of Zoom screens competing with the candles and the two of us eating enough latkes (traditional potato this year) for the whole family. (Seriously, we did not adjust the quantities at all and ended up eating latkes for four days! No complaints here, of course.)
While we still managed to have a festive time (and some pretty sweet Christmas Day plans – involving tons of two-player board games and a full coffee pot – are in the works), staying put for the holidays has definitely made it seem extra important to mark the occasion in any way we can. While I didn’t get it together to put up a Chanukah-specific recipe this year, I wanted to celebrate the holiday season with a winter-inspired, simple dessert that wouldn’t take too much effort but which would scream “holidays!” I also decided to err on the healthier side of things since I tend to end up eating way too many sweets this time of year. (Don’t worry, this still tastes sweet and decadent – I’m just calling it “healthier” because it also contains yogurt and fruit :-))
Okay, so let’s talk about it already! Cranberries and apples are cooked down with wintery spices like cinnamon, star anise, and cardamom into a deliciously tart and lightly spiced fruit layer. That gets sandwiched by a simple ginger cream that almost didn’t make it into the glass because I just wanted to eat it by itself. Basically, you’ll make your own ginger-infused simple syrup with sugar, water, and powdered ginger, pour it into some super thick greek yogurt, and stir in some finely chopped candied ginger pieces for good measure. Once everything is layered together, you’ll garnish it with some extra candied ginger and .. voilá! Time to get a spoon.
A couple notes about the recipe:
-The secret to good fruit sauces is to use the least amount of water possible. It makes your sauce take longer to make, and you have to babysit it so it doesn’t burn, but it is well worth it. You can add small amounts of water if you need to, but don’t add too much!
-I left my cranberry apple sauce on the tarter side, which makes it especially delicious when combined with the sweeter ginger cream. Feel free to adjust the sugar to your desired preference, however.
-You could probably veganize this by using a good non-dairy yogurt.
-You can make both components ahead of time, and chill them in the fridge until you are ready to assemble the parfait.
Cranberry & Ginger Cream Parfait
For the fruit:
- 3 granny smith apples, chopped
- 1 cup cranberries (mine were frozen)
- 3 green cardamom pods
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 star anise
- ¼ cup water + a few tablespoons (for later)
- 1 tablespoons sugar, or to taste
Place the apples, cranberries, cardamom, cinnamon, star anise, and ¼ cup of the water in a saucepan. Set the heat to medium and cook, stirring continuously, until the cranberries start to break down. It will not seem like you have enough water in the pot, but you do. Just keep stirring and cooking – the cranberries will start to release their liquid. Once the cranberries have formed a sauce, the apples are very tender, and there is no liquid at all in the pot, you can add a couple more tablespoons of water. This is also a good time to add the sugar.
Continue stirring, helping the apples to break down with your spoon. Be patient. When the apples have broken down to your liking (I left mine a bit chunky) turn off the heat, cover the pot, and let everything steep for 30 minutes to further infuse the spices. Now try to find the whole spices and remove them. (This is the hardest part as those cardamom pods tend to blend in with the green apple, but if you dig through patiently, you will find them!) Let cool completely; then chill in the fridge until ready to assemble.
For the cream:
- 1 cup greek yogurt (or sub with your favorite non-dairy variety)
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 2 tablespoons water
- ¼ teaspoon powdered ginger
- ¼ cup finely chopped crystallized/candied ginger (plus extra to garnish)
Combine sugar, water, and powdered ginger in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil just until the sugar and ginger dissolve. Let the syrup cool; then stir it into the yogurt, along with the chopped crystallized ginger. The crystallized ginger will absorb liquid and taste even more amazing if you let the cream sit in the fridge for a while before assembling.
To assemble:
Layer desired amounts of fruit and cream in a parfait glass (or any glass, for that matter!) Garnish with crystallized ginger.
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