Fresh Strawberry Parfaits

Strawberry parfaits have always been a crowd favorite especially when made with fresh strawberries and creamy vanilla ice cream. This recipe is perfect for cooling off with the kids on a hot, summer day.
What you will need:
1 pint strawberries, hulled and quartered
2 tablespoons sugar, preferably superfine, or to taste
½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1 ½ quarts vanilla ice cream
½ cup diced strawberries (about 8 medium)
Food processor or blender
Fine-mesh strainer
2 bowls; small and medium
Electric mixer
8 parfait or stem glasses

To begin, you must first make the strawberry sauce. In a food processor or blender, process the strawberries to a smooth puree. Use a fine-mesh strainer and strain the puree into a bowl. Press the solids to make sure you get as much of the liquid as possible; discard what is left in the strainer. Stir in sugar and lemon juice and then cover and refrigerate until chilled. In a medium bowl, beat the cream with the sugar with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until slightly firm peaks begin to form. Cover and refrigerate the mixture until you are ready to use it. Now comes the fun part: assembling the parfaits. Place ¼ cup of ice cream in the bottom of each of eight parfait or stem glasses and top with about 1 tablespoon of strawberry sauce. Place another ¼ cup of ice cream in each glass and then scatter 1 tablespoon of diced strawberries over each scoop. Repeat with another layer of ice cream, sauce and strawberries, then with the whipped cream. Now sit back with the kids and enjoy your creamy and fruity, ice-cold dessert.

Recipe taken from: Mary Engelbreit’s Let’s Party Cookbook (Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2001)