Licorice Parfaits with Lime Syrup

This one is, wholly and solely, ripped from the Chef's Pencil and you can find it here.  I am willing to concede I'm a good cook, but only a GREAT cook could come up with this recipe and only a fool would mess with it.  I have elaborated a little on the method, basically dumbing it down for those who aren't au fait with what a sabayon is and how to cook it.

I chose this recipe for my man because he loves Army and Navy boiled lollies - a citrus aniseed combination that's like heaven on the tongue, even for those of us who don't normally like licorice.  Oddly he didn't make the connection until he actually tasted the dessert.  They're a wicked combination and this recipe WORKS.

So without further ado, let's start with the lime syrup.  You'll need;

250g sugar
1 Cup water
1 lime

Place the sugar and water in a saucepan with the zest of the lime (it's important to get this as absolutely fine as you can get it - use a grater that turns it to powder).

Bring to the boil and then decant into a bowl or jug.  Stir into the syrup the juice from the lime and then refrigerate.  That's it folks.  Now to the parfait(s);

Ingredients;
300ml pure cream
50g soft eating licorice finely chopped
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
2 tspns glucose
2 Tablespoons Sambucca (I used white but black will add more colour to your parfait)
60g castor (fine white) sugar

In a small saucepan heat the cream with the licorice in it until the licorice is very soft.  Do not boil.  Then place in the food processor and blend.  Run it through a sieve to get the lumps out and set aside to cool down to room temperature.

Now to make your sabayon!  Sabayon, as I've discovered, is like a cross between meringue, cream and custard.  The Italians call it zabaglione and it can be served as a stand-alone dessert or poured over fruit, whatever you like really!  In a large saucepan bring some water up to a simmer.  The Chef's Pencil recommends a stainless steel bowl, but I only own pyrex and I like that it takes longer - less chance that I'll wind up making sweet scrambled eggs.  Good for your arm muscles too.

A little tip with the glucose - put your bowl on some scales and weigh it instead of trying to use a measuring spoon.  Go for about 10g of glucose.  Place all the remaining ingredients into your bowl, give them a whisk to combine and then pop it over the saucepan.  Just combined your sabayon will look like this;

Careful that your bowl doesn't touch the water.  Now start whisking.  The trick with sabayon is to make sure it doesn't get too hot.  Stick your finger in periodically and if it feels warmer than room temperature, take it off the heat.  Keep whisking and it should become lighter and airier, turning from yellow to a pale cream colour and increasing in size;

The colour and texture change is obvious, no?  Keep whisking while it cools down and then fold about half of it into the licorice cream.  Once that's combined, tip it back into the remaining sabayon and fold through until well combined.

Pour into your moulds.  I used individual serve-sized moulds but in future I will probably use one large mould lined with cling wrap or baking paper to get the thing out easier.  To remove from the moulds dip into hot water for a few seconds and turn out onto plates.  Top with some strips of lime zest and allow your guests to top with the syrup.

The flavours of this dish just can't be accurately described.  The licorice flavour is very subtle and almost totally obscured by the lime syrup.  The two together are just something else entirely.  Enjoy!