SINGAPORE - If you like coffee and yogurt, why not combine the two and make your very own coffee yogurt parfait.
With a little effort, you can serve up this cafe-worthy treat right at home, or make this as a gift to surprise your family, friends or co-workers. It can be an energising breakfast, an afternoon snack to perk you up or a dessert to look forward to after a long day.
I am not one for overly sweet desserts and the advantage of making your own dessert is controlling the sweetness by adjusting the amount of sugar or honey used to suit your own preference.
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SINGAPORE COFFEE FESTIVAL
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The Singapore Coffee Festival is back and even bigger this year. The second edition of this mega coffee festival will feature more than 80 exhibitors in all, including over 70 food and beverage players over four days at the Marina Bay Cruise Centre. The exhibitor list includes ST Wine, a premium wine club by The Straits Times which offers a wine subscription service featuring curated wines from reputable merchants like Asia Wine Network, Crystal Wines and Grape Palate. Visit the booth to enjoy special promotions. The festival's programme line-up includes panel discussion and coffee-related workshops.
WHAT: Singapore Coffee Festival
WHERE: Marina Bay Cruise Centre, 61 Marina Coastal Drive (Marina South Pier MRT station is the nearest MRT station)
WHEN: Aug 3 (for trade and media only, register at sgcoffeefestival.com); two sessions daily from Aug 4 to 6, 10am to 3.30pm and 4.30 to 10pm
ADMISSION: $22, $18 (DBS and POSB cardholders, ST subscribers)
For more details, go to sgcoffeefestival.com or e-mail sgcoffeefest@sph.com.sg
I call this the Triple Coffee Power Parfait because it packs in a triple dose of coffee.
There is coffee-flavoured yogurt, coffee konnyaku jelly for an extra kick and a topping of coffee-flavoured popcorn from Boxgreen, a local online company that provides a snack subscription service with a wide selection of snacks pre-packed in small-sized portions.
Boxgreen is one of the exhibitors at this year's Singapore Coffee Festival organised by The Straits Times. Head down to the event to find out more about coffee, taste artisanal brews and even learn to roast your own coffee beans.
Back to the recipe, I recommend using plain Greek-style yogurt which is more thickly textured than the usual plain yogurt. Add one to two drops of vanilla essence if you like. I use instant coffee granules to flavour the coffee to avoid the addition of liquid which will dilute the yogurt.
Don't skip the step of dissolving the coffee granules in a little of the yogurt first. It is much easier to do this first than attempting to dissolve the instant coffee granules in the entire lot of yogurt. If you don't mind the extra washing up, you can always use a food processor or blender to do the job for you.
My tip is to prepare the coffee konnyaku the night before. The coffee konnyaku is pretty tasty to eat on its own. I use strong coffee for extra flavour, but you are free to select your preferred choice of coffee. You can even use decaffeinated coffee.
The wonderful thing about this yogurt parfait is it is very much up to you to customise to your liking. I added fresh raspberries because their tartness provides a contrast to the richness of the yogurt. Go for blueberries, strawberries or blackberries if you prefer. After rinsing the berries, do make sure you let them dry before you add them to the parfait.
Watch this video on how to prepare the Triple Coffee Power Parfait.
Triple Coffee Power Parfait
Part I: Making the coffee konnyaku jelly
Ingredients
425ml strong coffee (room temperature)
80g white sugar
5g unflavoured konnyaku powder
You will need a heat-proof container (20cm by 20cm).
Method
1. Pour the coffee into a saucepan.
2. Add the sugar and konnyaku powder, stir well.
3. Heat the saucepan over medium-low heat and bring the mixture to a simmering boil.
4. Turn off the heat and stir until there are no more visible bubbles.
5. Pour into heat-proof container and let it cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for at least three hours before use. This recipe will yield about 400g of coffee konnyaku jelly, but you will only need 200g to make two parfaits. You can save the rest of the jelly for other desserts. It can keep in the fridge for a week.
6. Slice 200g of the coffee konnyaku into 1.5cm cubes. Set aside.
Part II: Preparing the coffee yogurt
Ingredients
2 Tbs white sugar
1 Tbs instant coffee granules
2 Tbs Greek-style yogurt
400ml Greek-style yogurt
3 Tbs honey
Method
1. In a mixing bowl, place the white sugar, instant coffee granules and 2 tablespoons of the yogurt. Whisk for 3 minutes until sugar and coffee granules are dissolved.
2. Add in the remaining yogurt and honey, whisk to combine the ingredients. Place yogurt in the fridge until ready to assemble the parfait.
Part III: Assembling the parfait
Ingredients
2 pieces (80g) Choc Chunk Peanut Granola Square, broken into chunky bits
80g raspberries, divided
420ml coffee yogurt
2 packets (60g) Dark Choc Mandarin Granola
200g coffee konnyaku, cubed
2 packets (60g) Rejuvenation Topper (almond, pumpkin seed, chia seeds, goji berry)
1 packet (15g) Pop'in Kopi (coffee-flavoured popcorn)
You will need two 350ml jars, each measuring 10cm in diameter.
Method
1. In one jar, arrange half of the Choc Chunk Peanut Granola Square chunks and four to six raspberries in a layer.
2. Layer with 3 tablespoons of coffee yogurt.
3. Arrange 5 to 6 cubes of coffee konnyaku and 5 raspberries in a layer.
4. Layer with 1 packet of Dark Choc Mandarin Granola. Add 2 tablespoons of the yogurt.
5. Top off with 1 packet of Rejuvenation Topper, 3 cubes of coffee konnayku and 2 raspberries.
6. Add half a packet of Pop'In Kopi just before serving.
7. Repeat the steps to assemble the other parfait.
Yields 2 parfaits.
This recipe features the following products from Boxgreen, which provides a healthy snack box delivery service.
Pop'in Kopi: popcorn, sugar, water, butter, soy lecithin, salt, maltodextrin, coffee powder and baking soda (15g)
Rejuvenation Topper: almond, pumpkin seed, chia seeds, goji berry (30g)
Dark Choc Mandarin Granola: oats, gula melaka, dark chocolate chip, candied citrus peel, butter (30g)
Choc Chunk Peanut Granola Square: oats, chocolate, honey, oat flour, almonds, peanuts, peanut butter (40g)
Boxgreen snacks are available for order at their website boxgreen.co
