These desserts are da'bomb!

A simple sabayon and a sinful semifreddo

Frozen parfit, elegant and easy.

The first time I encountered the term "parfait" was in pastry chef Nancy Silverton's first book, Desserts. Now famous, Silverton was then an up-and-coming Los Angeles-based pastry chef who made her name working for chef Wolfgang Puck at the Beverly Hills hotspot, Spago.

I adored that book—still do—and tackled most of the recipes before entering pastry school in 1989. Some desserts were a hit, others less so (the book has no pictures, so I never quite knew what I was aiming for), but it turned out to be a great introduction to a profession I was about to enter.

A large chapter in the book is devoted to ice cream and frozen desserts, and that's where the parfait came in. I'm not talking about a pudding parfait or the common layered trifle-like parfait. No, I'm talking about a parfait glacé, also known to Italians as semifreddo, which in Italian means "half frozen" because this frozen dessert has a melting texture far lighter than ice cream.

The way it's made is by combining something called a pâte à bombe with whipped cream. This bombe part consists of a cooked mixture of egg yolks and sugar that’s whipped until very light and frothy (think of the classic Italian zabaglione), with different techniques used to bring this emulsion together. The most common method is that the yolks are first whisked together with a sugar syrup, then heated over a bain-marie until thickened, and finally whipped at high speed until at least doubled in volume. You can also pour boiling sugar syrup over the yolks as they are being beaten, and in some Italian recipes, you make a crème anglaise out of the yolks and then beat that (as in my semifreddo recipe below).

It all sounds quite complicated, but it's really not, and a pâte à bombe is used in so many recipes from buttercream to chocolate mousse to semifreddo. You can even spoon the frothy pâte à bombe over fruit and gratiné it under the broiler.

Silverton's recipes are quite elaborate, such as a layered three-chocolate parfait, a poppy seed caramel parfait, and a ginger parfait that I feel like trying for my next dinner party. In my ice cream classes at pastry school, we made many of these frozen parfaits, my favorite being a simple one with praline. Since praline isn't so easy to find (or is sold at an exorbitant price), I thought why not make one with chocolate-hazelnut spread? Nutella springs to mind, but there are so many others to choose from. The frozen parfaits are moulded in either a terrine/bread mould or a cake ring. You could also use a springform pan, but I like them best in a terrine because the slices are so pretty.

I'm also including a recipe for a simple zabaglione/sabayon. Also made with a pâte à bombe base, this dessert can be served in many ways. In summer, served over sliced fresh fruit, it's one of my absolute faves.

Chocolate/Hazelnut Semifreddo

Serves 8-10