Fruit Parfait Recipe

Fruit Parfait is a popular dessert you can find at many cafes in Japan.  It is like an ice cream sundae with a lot of fruit.  It looks very pretty with colorful and decorative cut fruit, and also of course, it is a delicious sweet.

In Japan, there are specialty fruit shops where they sell high quality and very expensive fruit, mostly for gifts. While the quality of fruit in the US can be hit or miss, although they are quite cheap.  Those expensive Japanese fruit shops sometimes have their own dessert cafe to serve wonderful fruit dishes using their own top notch fruits.  One of the most popular dishes at those fruit parlors is Fruit Parfait, prepared just perfectly with carefully chosen seasonal fruits.  The only down side of the special Fruit Parfait is that it comes with a special price tag.  Well, that’s always the case, isn’t it?  Luckily, you can also go to local Kissaten cafes in any town in Japan, and they most likely all serve great Fruit Parfait too!  Japanese old Kissaten cafes serve light foods and desserts like Spaghetti Neopolitan, Cream Soda, and many other familiar and nostalgic dishes.  Fruit Parfait could be something you get on special occasions at fancy fruit parlors, but also you can enjoy one at your local cafe at a moment’s notice.

Fruit is the focus of the parfait of course, but another typical part of the parfait is corn flakes. While corn flakes in a sundae may sound a little unusual outside Japan, ice cream is milk after all. Corn flakes work very well in the parfait. The crunch adds a nice contrast to the textures of the ice cream and fruit. Also, the corn flakes are not sweet, so they add a different kind of flavor. A parfait without corn flakes is just a sundae. Good, but not the same thing.

Even though Fruit Parfait is something you eat out, it is very easily made at home too.  And most of us who live outside Japan may not have a choice anyway!  Just shop for your favorite fruits and sharpen your knives to be able to cut the fruit nicely.  It is like a sundae but has a much fancier look.  You can make it for an afternoon snack for kids or a dessert for dinner party guests.  Hope you like it!