If you walk around Japan and pass by coffee shops (kissaten 喫茶店) and family restaurants, you will often see these huge parfaits in the windows (the display ones look real but are usually made of plastic).

Japanese parfaits are made mainly of ice cream, fruits, and whipped cream along with some other sweet ingredients. 

For the Japanese, strawberry, chocolate, and matcha (green tea) are popular year-round parfait menu items but you might see some seasonal parfaits such as peach and melon.

They are almost always served in a tall decorative glass, which fascinates everyone from kids to adults. It is a classic menu item for coffee shops and family restaurants.

Step 1 – Get A Tall Glass

Step 2 – Get 3 Fillers 

Sponge cakes: Parfaits usually include some kind of sponge cakes to fill up the tall glass as well as your tummy.

Use your favorite sponge cake, brownies, or Castella cake as fillings. It’s a great way to use leftover brownies!

Fresh Fruits: Most parfaits include fresh fruits. Fruits are quite expensive in Japan, so large chunks of fruits on parfaits definitely catch our hearts!

Fresh Whipped Cream: Besides ice cream, whipped cream fill up the voids in the tall glass.

Step 3 – Get Your Favorite Ice Cream

One to two scoops of ice cream is a must in Japanese parfaits.

Vanilla is a good choice for most parfaits, but be adventurous and get creative with it!

Step 4 – Make Several Layers

Alternate the ingredients to make layers and fill the space with whipped cream.

It’s important to create a good mixture of all the ingredients, not just whipped cream.

Step 5 – Give it Crunch

Sponge cakes, ice cream, and whipped cream are all soft in texture, so give it some crunch!

Most parfaits include cornflakes (cereal), granolas, and/or sliced almonds between layers so that they will provide a nice contrast to the rest of the ingredients.

Step 6 – Garnish

Finally, make sure to insert a Pocky or two in your parfait! They add more texture and dynamics to the parfait.

We have enjoyed making our very own パフェParfaits in Japanese this week. I hope you can enjoy making them at home too!

Miller Sensei

(Source - Just One Cookbook)