Apricot, nougat, almond and cinnamon parfait

• By Claire Borg

For 6 people, you will need:

Eight apricots (washed and deseeded), half a teaspoonful of ground cinnamon, two tablespoonfuls of sugar, 100g of sugar, almond nougat of the sort sold at village feasts, 50g of flaked almonds, 400ml of cream, 500ml of milk, the yolks of eight eggs.

Cook the cinnamon, sugar and apricots in a small saucepan over a medium flame, stirring to prevent sticking. Keep cooking until the fruit thickens, which takes about 20 minutes. Set this aside until it cools, then cover it and refrigerate it. Heat the milk and the cream together but take care not to allow the mixture to reaching boiling-point, or it will curdle. In a separate bowl, using a hand whisk, mix the egg-yolks and sugar. Add a bit of the milk/cream mixture to the egg mixture, stirring constantly. Pour this into the saucepan with the remaining milk/cream mixture, and using a long-handled spatula, stir constantly and scrape the bottom of the pan, to prevent the mixture from sticking. Do this over a low flame. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly, until it thickens. Freeze this in a sealable container and bring it out just before it starts to freeze solid. Break the nougat into small pieces, and process them to fine crumbs. Beat the almost-frozen ice cream with an electric whisk, so that air is incorporated and it fluffs up. Fold in the apricots, the flaked almonds and the nougat crumbs, and transfer it to a metal terrine or loaf tin (lined with cling-film). Freeze it for about four hours or until it is set. Remove it from the freezer 10 minutes before serving. Cut it into slices and serve them with whipped cream, fresh apricots and chunks of nougat.