Hazelnut Caramel Parfait – the summer dessert from the freezer

Put the egg yolks with the icing sugar and the vanilla seeds into a bowl and whip everything with the mixer until really pale and airy. Feel free to take three to four minutes for this – the mixture should become noticeably lighter and visibly gain volume.

Why is this so important? This foam holds all the air that later makes the parfait creamy. An ice cream machine folds the air in; here you do it by hand – right now.

Fold the whipped full cream into the egg yolk mixture portion by portion using a dough scraper. Always work from the bottom to the top and take your time – vigorous stirring would destroy exactly the air you just whipped in.

Once the mixture is pale, light and even, you've done it. That is precisely the difference between a light parfait and a heavy cream.

Chop the caramelised hazelnuts coarsely with a knife – deliberately coarse, not fine. Small, crunchy pieces later provide the bite that makes this parfait special; chopped too finely, they simply disappear into the cream.

Mix the nuts into the mixture until they are evenly distributed. Keep a few back for the decoration.

Fill the mixture into a piping bag and distribute it across the donut silicone molds – around 50 g per mould, which makes 12 pieces. Smooth the surface with the angled spatula, so the parfaits will later stand neatly on the plate.

The ring shape is no coincidence: the hollow in the middle is exactly the spot where the caramel cream goes afterwards.

Into the freezer it goes. A few hours will do at a pinch, but overnight is better – and honestly, this is the most convenient part of the recipe, because you don't have to do anything for it.

Only when the mixture is properly frozen through can it be released cleanly from the silicone mold. Start too early and you'll lose that lovely edge.

Release the frozen parfaits from the mold – with the silicone mold this takes no effort at all. Place them on a tray lined with baking paper.

Temper the dark couverture and pipe it in fine stripes over the parfaits – a cornet or a piping bag with a very small opening is all you need for this.

Now the caramel cream goes into the hollow in the middle. Again, this works most neatly with a piping bag: that way the edge stays clean and the amount is the same across all twelve.

To finish, place the reserved caramelised hazelnuts on top. It's the contrast that makes it: creamy parfait, crunchy nuts, bitter chocolate. After that, the parfaits go back into the freezer until you serve them.