This recipe for Cranberry Granita Pudding Parfaits is a light and refreshing dessert, perfect for the holiday season. The parfaits pair a smooth and creamy vanilla pudding topped with a spiced cranberry granita. Creating a delicious mix of sweet and tart. A must have for your holiday dessert line-up!
In a blender or food processor, add all of the ingredients and blend until the cranberries are completely blended and pureed.
Pour the cranberry mixture into a freezer safe dish, such as a small casserole dish or baking dish. Freeze for 30 minutes.
Remove the granita from the freezer. The edges and the top should have started to freeze. Scrape the mixture with a fork and freeze again. This creates the slushy granita texture. Repeat this process every 30 minutes for up to 4 hours. The granita is ready when it is completely frozen with a flaky texture.
Fluff the granita one final time before serving.
Vanilla Pudding
In a medium saucepan, heat the milk and maple syrup over medium heat until the maple syrup melts and bubbles start to form along the sides of the pan. Be careful not to boil.
While the milk mixture is heating, whisk the egg yolk, cornstarch and heavy cream in a medium bowl, until thoroughly combined.
Once the milk has heated, slowly drizzle in about half the mix into the bowl with the egg mixture. Whisk constantly – this makes sure the egg yolk does not scramble. Add the tempered egg mixture back into the saucepan. Still whisking constantly, cook the pudding over medium heat until it thickens and bubbles – about 3 to 5 minutes.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the vanilla extract and butter. Stir until all of the ingredients are thoroughly combined.
Strain the pudding over a fine-mesh strainer set over a medium bowl. Cover the pudding with plastic wrap – with the wrap directly touching the top of the pudding. This will keep a skin from forming on the top of the pudding.
Refrigerate the pudding for at least 4 hours to set fully.
Once the pudding has set and the granita is frozen, spoon equal portions of the vanilla pudding into serving glasses. Fluff the granita one final time. Using a small cookie scoop or fork, scoop the granita on top the pudding. You will have leftover granita that you can enjoy another time. Garnish with sugar covered cranberries and enjoy immediately!
Notes
Chill and Freeze Overnight - The pudding can chill overnight, and the granita can freeze overnight. You can stop the scrape process after about 4 hours, and just scrape and fluff the granita before serving.