I had planned on making a classic apple pie but found that a little uninspiring. This dish has no real relation to the history of the apple, but one thing I do like about it is that it takes the humble apple pie and turns it into a very sexy dessert. The recipe comes from Gordon Ramsey's 3 Star Chef book. This book contains recipes from his three Michelin star restaurant in Chelsea. A lot of these recipes in the book are quite complex and are highly involved. This is no exception and perhaps I should have paid more attention to presentation, however late on a Sunday I just wanted to eat.
The parfait is a combination of apples, blended and reduced, and then mixed with a Pate a Bombe which is made from egg yolks and sugar syrup and folded with cream. To get a smooth texture you need to pass the apple through a fine sieve. I did it once, but I think a few times may be even better. The base of the parfait is a thin slice of rich dark chocolate brownie. The granita is made from Granny Smith apples which are frozen with their skins on before being blended and strained. Apparently freezing them helps keep their intense green flavour. This mixture is combined with a sugar and glucose syrup and then frozen. The granita tastes spectacular and really holds that granny smith tart flavour. The full recipe also includes honeycomb sheets and a champagne foam which I omitted due to not feeling like spending 6 hours in the kitchen making one dessert on a Sunday.
An interesting dessert indeed, combining different textures of the crystallized granita with the smooth parfait and the addition of a rich chocolate brownie was a combination I wouldn't normally put together but really worked. I think the tartness of the apples balanced well with the slight bitterness of the dark chocolate.
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