Petite Parfait

Not too long ago I whipped up two quick, petitie individual parfaits. I don't know if they exactly qualify as a parfait, as they were not really layered in a tall dish, but rather in a small heart-shaped bowl, but that was all for presentation and sentimental purposes. The parfait mixture was relatively simple - mostly plain, fat free Greek yogurt, a spoon of unsweetened cocoa powder, a dollop of creamed honey, a dab of smooth natural peanut butter, and a hint of vanilla extract. This made a quick and relatively healthy chocolate mousse. It isn't sweet and airy like a regular chocolate mousse, but takes a fraction of the time and a fraction of the cost to make, and is probably much better for you. It certainly is a perfectly acceptable substitute. Then I dressed up the mousse with some leftover chocolate shapes and shavings, a few fresh raspberries, and I piped "I love you" on the parfaits with a little leftover simple sugar icing I had.

This is a perfect small and light dessert to end off a heavier meal or to enjoy late at night when you just need a small chocolate fix. The mousse recipe is quick to make if you have all ingredients on hand and you may make as much or as little as needed. It is very versatile and can be dressed up with fresh fruit, nuts, cake, cookies, etc. In addition, you can control how 'dark' chocolate the mousse is by the amount of cocoa and honey used. Alternately, maple syrup or agave nectar could be used instead of honey without much flavor change.