Blueberry Lime Parfait

Donkey from Shrek really knew what he was talking about when he said, “Have you ever met a person that when you say hey, let’s get a parfait and they say hey, I don’t like a parfait? Parfaits are delicious.” I have Donkey to thank for opening my eyes to parfaits.

Blueberry Lime Parfait is fruity and bright and a great way to end a hearty meal.

This parfait recipe is from Deep Run Roots by Vivian Howard with a few minor modifications. She hits the flavor notes perfectly. But if you look deeper at the recipe, you can use it as a formula to have the perfect parfait every time. For example for a festive Thanksgiving parfait, you can do layers of pureed cooked apples, cinnamon buttermilk panna cotta, cranberry preserves, and buttermilk whipped cream.

Blueberry Lime Parfait Ingredients

Blueberry Preserves
24 oz blueberries (can be frozen)
½ c granulated sugar
Zest of 2 limes
⅛ tsp salt

Buttermilk Panna Cotta
½ envelope powdered gelatin
¼ c cold water
1/16 tsp salt
¾ c heavy whipping cream
⅓ c Greek yogurt
1 ⅓ c whole milk
⅓ c sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon juice

Lime Curd
eggs yolks
2 tsp lime zest
⅔ c lime juice
1 c sugar
⅛ tsp salt
8 Tbl room temperature butter

Buttermilk Whipped Cream
1 c heavy whipping cream
2 Tbl Greek yogurt
2 Tbl milk
¼ c powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Blueberry Lime Parfait Directions
Makes 6 large servings

Blueberry Preserves
Put 24 oz blueberries, ½ c sugar, zest of 2 limes, and  ⅛ tsp salt in a 3 quart saucepan. Heat the mixture until it boils then reduce it until it just bubbles.

Stir it occasionally and once the blueberries are soft, smash them with a large fork. After about 50-60 minutes, your preserves should be thick.

Put a small spoonful of preserves on a cold plate. Tilt the plate towards you and the preserves should barely run. Divide the preserves between 6 rock glasses. Cover it and refrigerate it for about 45 minutes or until it’s cool to the touch.

Buttermilk Panna Cotta
In a medium bowl, mix together a ½ pack of powdered gelatin and ¼ c of water.

In a small sauce pan on low to medium heat, whisk together ¾ c heavy cream,

⅓ c of yogurt, 1 ⅓ c  whole milk, and ⅓ c of sugar. When the sugar is dissolved and the liquid just begins to steam, turn off the heat. 

Stir in 1 tsp vanilla into the milk mixture then pour it into the gelatin mixture. Stir the mixture until smooth. Add 1 tsp of lemon juice and stir. You will see small curds.

Put a fine mesh strainer over the saucepan and pour the panna cotta through the strainer. Distribute the panna cotta evenly over the blueberry preserves. A small amount of the blueberry preserves will get displaced and that’s ok. Cover it and refrigerate for 5-6 hours.

Lime Curd
In a large glass or metal bowl add 8 eggs, 2 tsp lime zest, ⅔ c lime juice, 1 c sugar, and ⅛ salt. Put the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. The bowl should not touch the water. Whisk it until it’s well combined.

Whisk every few minutes until the mixture begins to thicken. Stir constantly until it coats the back of a metal spoon. To see if it’s thick enough, dip a metal spoon into the curd and hold the handle parallel to the floor with the back of the spoon facing you. Draw a horizontal line with your finger in the curd on the back of the spoon spoon. It should leave a clean line and the curd should be about ⅛” thick. 

Remove the bowl from the pot. Add 8 Tbl butter to the curd in about ½ Tbl slices. Stir until the butter is melted and evenly divide the curd among the 6 rock glasses. This layer will be on top of the panna cotta.

Buttermilk Whipped Cream
You might think no way this list of ingredients will get to a stiff peak. It will but if you stop a little short, soft peaks will do just fine.

Add 1 c of heavy cream, 2 Tbl Greek yogurt, 2 Tbl whole milk, ¼ c powdered sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla extract to a stand mixer. Use the whisk attachment. Start on about setting two or the mixture will splash. When you start seeing ribbons in the cream, stop the machine. Remove the whisk. When you hold it upright, the points shouldn’t fall. If they do, keep mixing. Do not over mix.

You can either spoon the whipped cream over the lime curd or you can add it to a piping bag and pipe it on top of the lime curd.

Notes
You can make meringue cookies with the egg whites and serve it with the parfaits.