Pomegranate and rose water parfait with pomegranate sorbet

Serves 6 Desserts and puddings

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Method

To make the parfaits, place the sugar and 100ml water in a small pan and heat to dissolve to a clear syrup. Boil for 5 minutes.

Use a lemon squeezer to make the pomegranate juice, taking care not to overdo the squeezing. otherwise the bitterness from the connective membrane will taint the flavour – watch out, too, for splashing as the juice stains.

In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks with juice from the pomegranate half and the rose water. Continue to whisk while slowly pouring in the hot syrup. Place the bowl over a pan of just simmering water, making sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water, and whisk with electric beaters (ensure the flex is well away from the heat source) for about 5 minutes until the mixture leaves a trail when the beaters are lifted.

Remove the pan from the heat and continue to whisk for 5 minutes until just cooled.

In a separate bowl, whisk the creams together until they are just floppy and looser than the egg mixture. Fold the mixtures together. If you want to add a little extra colour, add the grenadine syrup to the mixture, then spoon it into the Dariole moulds and freeze overnight.

For the pomegranate sorbet, pour 75ml of water into a saucepan, add the sugar and the glucose syrup then heat to dissolve. Pour the sugar mixture into a bowl set inside a larger bowl of cold water to cool quickly.

When cold, mix in the rose water and pomegranate juice. Churn the mixture in an ice cream maker, following the manufacturer’s instructions, or place it in a shallow freezer-proof container and freeze for 2 hours.

With a fork, break up the frozen mixture and whisk with electric beaters until it all has the same texture. Freeze and repeat the process 2 hours later. Freeze for another 2 hours then transfer to a food processor and whizz until smooth. Refreeze for 2 hours or overnight before use.

Before serving, soak the seeds of the pomegranate half for 30 minutes in 1tsp rose water and a pinch of sugar. Drain the seeds and set aside.

Serve by briefly dipping each mould into hot water and inverting the parfait onto serving plates alongside small bowls of pomegranate sorbet. Scatter with the rose petals and soaked pomegranate seeds to decorate.