Strawberry Champagne Parfait recipe by Chef Avijit Gosh

Regulars at The Leela Palace in Bengaluru will kno

w who the chef behind their sinful pastries that come out from their kitchen is. Chef Avijit Ghosh, the Corporate Pastry Chef, brings two decades of experience in pastry making, giving his creations an edge over others. For Avijit, pastry making is more than a profession. “As a child, I was more of an artist. 
I used to sketch, draw and use water colours. So when I grew up, I realised that pastry making gave me this freedom to use my creativity,” says the chef, who is one of the judges in the final round of the IIHM Young Chef Olympiad 2017. He gives us his Strawberry Champagne Parfait and Raspberry Rose 
Petal Marmalade recipe,  for the Valentine’s season.  

Strawberry Champagne Parfait/Raspberry Rose Petal Marmalade

Ingredients                                                            QTY
For Strawberry Champagne Parfait
Champagne                                                            85 gms
Strawberry Purée                                                   40 gms
Sugar                                                                     160 gms
Water                                                                      50 ml
Egg yolk                                                               100 gms (2 eggs)
Gelatin                                                                   10 gms
Whipped cream                                                    500 gms
 For Raspberry Rose Petal Marmalade
Raspberry Purée                                                   200 gms
Rose Petal Compote                                            170 gms
Sugar                                                                     105 gms
Pectin                                                                       5 gms       

Method
 ■ To make the strawberry parfait, cook sugar, egg and water at 118°C and prepare a bombe paste

■ Melt gelatin by softening in water

■ Incorporate into the bombe paste

■Then incorporate the whipped cream.

■ To make the raspberry rose petal marmalade, cook raspberry purée with sugar 

■ Then add the rose petal compote with pectin and set.

■ To assemble, set the parfait in the mould, fill centre with raspberry rose petal marmalade.

■ Demould and finish with pink white chocolate glaze. 

Tips 
■  While guidelines are to be followed, it’s important to listen to your instinct, if you think adding any ingredient (like a pinch of cinnamon) will up the taste, go ahead and experiment. 
■  Be patient, don’t keep opening the oven or the refrigerator to check. Desserts and pastries need the required time to set.