Roasted Nectarine, Amaretto & Pistachio Sponge Parfait with Earl Grey Yoghurt Mousse
DIFFICULTY: Medium
PREP TIME: 2 hours / CHILL TIME: 6 hours
Ingredients
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Ingredients ✴
Pistachio Sponge:
4 large eggs, room temperature
⅓ cup + ¼ cup caster sugar, divided
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
1 ½ cups (160g) ground pistachios (see tip)
3 ½ Tbsp cornflour
½ teaspoon baking powder
60g salted butter, melted & cooled
Roasted Nectarines & Earl Grey Yoghurt Mousse:
7 ripe nectarines or red plums (700g), pit removed & cut into 1cm wedges
2 Tbsp caster sugar
Juice of ½ lemon (about 1 ½ Tbsp juice)
1 ⅓ cups cream, divided
2 Earl Grey tea bags
100g white chocolate, roughly chopped
½ cup mascarpone cheese
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
¾ cup full-fat unsweetened Greek yoghurt
To Assemble:
Juice of 3 lemons (about ⅓ cup + 1 Tbsp lemon juice)
2 Tbsp caster sugar
3-4 Tbsp Amaretto liqueur (or sub with limoncello), to taste
500g (4 punnets) fresh raspberries, to decorate
Directions
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Directions ✴
Preheat your oven to 170°C regular bake. Grease and line a xx baking tray with baking paper.
Pistachio Sponge: Separate the eggs and transfer the egg yolks to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Add ⅓ cup of the caster sugar, vanilla and ¼ tsp salt. Beat on high speed for about 4 minutes, or until the mixture is pale, thickened and fluffy. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl. Sieve the ground pistachios, cornflour and baking powder over the top and fold it through the egg yolk mixture (it will be quite stiff but don’t stress!).
Clean the bowl of the stand mixer, then add the egg whites and remaining ¼ cup caster sugar. Beat on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes, or until they form stiff peaks - don’t overbeat. Add a third of the egg whites to the egg yolk mixture and mix together until combined (it should feel much looser now). Add another third of the egg white and gently fold through the batter, until just combined. Add the last of the egg whites and gently fold through again, until just combined - be gentle as you don’t want to knock out the air. Pour the melted butter over the top and fold into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared baking tray and spread into an even layer. Bake on the lower-middle oven rack for 10-12 minutes, or until lightly golden and matte on top. Set aside to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Using a plate as a guide, cut two circles out of the sponge using the tip of a sharp knife - make one slightly bigger than the other as this works better for layering in the serving bowl. Don’t discard the off cuts as you will use them!
Roasted Nectarines: Increase the oven temperature to 200°C. Add the nectarines, sugar and lemon juice to a medium oven dish along with 2 Tbsp water. Toss everything together and roast for about 35-40 minutes, or until the nectarines are jammy and bubbling. Transfer to a bowl and set aside in the fridge to cool completely.
Earl Grey Yoghurt Mousse: Add ⅓ cup of the cream and earl grey tea bags to a small pot and place over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, then remove from the heat and let the tea bags steep in the cream for about 2 minutes. Remove the tea bags, letting any excess cream drip off. Add the white chocolate to the pot and whisk together, until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Set aside to cool down.
Add the remaining 1 cup cream, mascarpone and vanilla to a large mixing bowl. Using an electric whisk or hand-held beater, beat on high speed for about 1 minute, until it forms stiff peaks. Add the cooled white chocolate mixture and the yoghurt and fold everything together, until combined and smooth. Set aside until ready to use.
Assembly: Set aside a serving bowl (about 22cm in diameter and about 9cm tall). Add the lemon juice, caster sugar and 1 Tbsp water to a small pot. Place over high heat and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, remove from the heat and whisk in the Amaretto or limoncello.
Arrange the sponge offcuts in the base of the serving bowl in a single layer. Drizzle a few spoonfuls of the lemon amaretto soak on top. Spread about a quarter of the roasted nectarines on top of the sponge, then spread about a quarter of the yoghurt mousse on top in an even layer. Place the smaller circle piece of sponge on top and repeat with the lemon amaretto soak, roasted nectarines and mousse. Place the larger circle piece of sponge on top and repeat with the lemon amaretto soak, roasted nectarines and mousse. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and set aside in the fridge to chill for about 6 hours, or overnight.
To serve, arrange the raspberries in a single layer on top.
Tip* To make the ground pistachios, add your pistachios to a nutribullet and pulse several times until very finely chopped. Shake the nutribullet cup to redistribute the pistachios then pulse again, shaking every few pulses, until the pistachios are finely ground and resemble almond meal.