A Marriage Made in Heaven ........ Bailey's Irish Cream & French Silk!

..."practically perfect in every way!", that's what this dessert is to me, quoting one of my favorite storybook heroines, Mary Poppins .......... of course these words of wisdom must be repeated with a very crisp British accent to make them .....well, ........"proper"! .........

...... Elegant, rich, indulgent, simple, no-bake, do-ahead, ............ beautiful....... an amazing special occasion dessert!

French Silk has been a go-to recipe of mine for over twenty-five years. I've tried a zillion variations - in pies and tarts, layered with ice cream, brownies and/or jam, combined with crushed peppermints, paired with fresh strawberries or raspberries, more intensely dark chocolatey, or pale milk chocolatey, dressed up, dressed down. Guess what?............... it's one of my Little Black Dress* recipes! You'll love having this versatile recipe in your repertoire!

As a final "hats off" to St. Patrick's Day, I decided to pair the delicious French Silk with a bit of Irish Cream liqueur. I definitely wanted the Irish Cream flavor to shine so I reduced one cup of it to a syrupy consistency. This may make some of you happy, but some a bit sad, as every bit of alcohol simmers away - however, what's left is quite delicious and is a wonderful compliment to the decadent  French Silk.

This dessert ALWAYS brings rave reviews!  I remember serving it to a dear friend many years ago. He ate it painstakingly slow, taking tiny bite after tiny bite as if he didn't want it to ever end. When he finally finished, he looked around a bit sheepishly, then picked up the plate and licked it clean! He's a guy who normally has extremely good manners, but he didn't care who was looking! Try it yourself, you may find yourself with an overwhelming desire to pick up your plate too!

P.S. Okay, okay... for those of you who are very astute, I did cheat............... but it was a just a wee bit......... I used a bit of leprechaun magic to transform my mint and other herbs from my yard into shamrocks!

Cooks Note:
This recipe does use raw eggs. Raw eggs should not be used in food prepared for pregnant women, babies, young children, or anyone whose health is compromised. You can solve this problem by using pasteurized eggs if they are available in your area.

Bailey's French Silk Parfaits

Ingredients for cookie layer:

6-8 ounces chocolate sandwich cookies, crushed - depending on how thick you want the  cookie layer to be. (I used Oreo's)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Ingredients for French Silk layer:
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup Irish Cream Liqueur such as Bailey's or O'Mara's
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
½ cup white sugar
3 large eggs

Directions for cookie layer:
1. Combine crushed cookies and melted butter. Set aside.


Directions for French Silk:
1. Bring Irish Cream to a simmer in a small saucepan and simmer for about 10 minutes or until volume is reduced by one half and Irish Cream has is beginning to thicken . Remove from heat and set aside to cool. - As it cools it will develop a thick, syrupy consistency

2. Place semi-sweet chocolate chips in a microwave-safe container and heat on high for 30 seconds. Remove from microwave, stir and cook for another 20 seconds. Stir until chips are melted and chocolate is smooth. You may need another 10 seconds or so in the microwave. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

4. Cream the softened butter at medium to high speed with an electric mixer for 1 minute or until light and fluffy. Add sugar, a little at a time, and continue to beat until light and fluffy. This will take 3-5 minutes. Scrape bowl often. It must be mixed long enough so it's no longer gritty.

5. Add the cooled Irish Cream syrup to the butter mixture and mix until well combined. Slowly add the melted chocolate, beating on low to medium speed until the chocolate is well blended and mixture is smooth and creamy. Scrape bowl again.

7. On medium speed, add eggs one at a time, beating for two minutes after each addition and scraping bowl between each egg.

8. Layer chocolate mixture and the cookie mixture in parfait glasses, goblets or pretty dessert dishes. If desired top with a sprinkle of the crumbs or lightly sweetened whipped cream and chocolate curls - or all three!

 Notes:

This recipe does use raw eggs. Raw eggs should not be used in food prepared for pregnant women, babies, young children, or anyone whose health is compromised. You can used pasteurized eggs if they are available in your area.

*This recipe is extremely versatile, add more melted chocolate if you want a more intense chocolate flavor, less if you're more of a milk chocolate fan. Sometimes I make a tart with it in a springform pan and layer it with softened ice cream and raspberry or strawberry jam. My kids loved this dessert and would choose it for their birthdays with layers of ice cream, oreos and strawberry butter cream! At Christmas I often will add some crushed peppermint candies and decorate the desserts with tiny candy canes. Fresh strawberries are a beautiful and delicious pairing. Use your imagination, anything that might be nice with chocolate is fair game here. That's why I call it a Little Black Dress recipe! Let me know what fun ideas YOU come up with!

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