Manhole Parfait
Based on:
TypeDessert
Serves4 people
DateAugust 24, 2026
A dessert as a thrilling fall: round, sharp, with a hidden depth.
A sharp and fresh dessert shaped like a round manhole cover, built from layers of lemon-yogurt mousse and thin chocolate, with sour cherry coulis marking the deep fall. The round silhouette directly references the Parisian manhole from the news.
Ingredients
- 400 ml Greek yogurt
- 250 ml whipping cream
- 100 g sugar
- 2 lemons (zest and juice)
- 100 g dark chocolate
- 150 g cherries (frozen or fresh, pitted)
- 2 tbsp extra lemon juice
- 3 tbsp sugar (for coulis)
- 4 sheets gelatin
- 8 Bastogne cookies
Method
- Soak the gelatin in cold water for 5 minutes.
- Heat 100 ml cream with 100 g sugar until dissolved. Add squeezed gelatin and stir until dissolved. Let cool slightly.
- Mix yogurt, lemon zest, and juice into the cream mixture.
- Whip the remaining cream stiff and fold into the yogurt mixture.
- Divide the Bastogne cookies over four small round serving rings (8 cm diameter) and press as a base.
- Pour the yogurt mixture on top. Chill for at least 3 hours to set.
- Melt the chocolate au bain-marie. Spread thinly on baking paper into 8 cm circles. Chill to harden.
- Make the cherry coulis: cook cherries with 2 tbsp lemon juice and 3 tbsp sugar until soft. Puree and strain.
- Remove parfaits from rings. Place chocolate circles on top as covers. Make a small round opening in the center with a spoon.
- Fill the opening with cherry coulis, so it looks like you're peering into the depths.
Serving notes
- Serve on a black plate for a real manhole effect.
- Drizzle extra cherry coulis around the parfait for extra tension.
- Garnish with a twist of lemon peel as a 'rescue line'.