A Chocolate, Coconut & Cherry Dream: Cherry Ripe Parfait

This fruity parfait in a glass can be made up in all of 15 minutes. With the flavours of a Cherry Ripe bar (dark chocolate, cherries and coconut) you can make it as sweet as you want it. And the chocolate drip? That's not just decoration, it's completely edible too!

We usually try to exclusively buy seasonal fruit but when I saw cherries for a steal I had to snatch up a bag of them. I love winter vegetables but winter fruit is a bit same same after a while and we really loved eating the cherries for something different.

Although this can be eaten for dessert or even breakfast Mr NQN wolfed it down for afternoon tea just before we went out for dinner with Viggo, Louise and his mum Madame Butterfly. During dinner we got onto the topic of podcasts. I told her that I loved the "My Favorite Murder" podcast because I am fascinated by serial killers and I'm a bit of a ghoul. Louise encouraged her to download it for her 9 hour train ride back home near Port Macquarie but she didn't seem interested. She prefers to spend her time doing something else.

"I like to make up stories for people that I see on the train," said Madame Butterfly. I remember doing the exact same thing-before I became addicted to the phone and when I wasn't working or talking to someone, I was just day dreaming. I haven't day dreamed in a long time come to think of it. And I think I missed it a bit.

We had dinner and then we walked outside past a woman who was looking at the restaurant's menu with her son. She followed us outside and walked behind us for a while until Mr NQN asked us to move aside to let her boy pass on his bike. She turned around and asked us what the food was like at the restaurant that we had just left. I said that I liked some dishes but there were some dishes that didn't do much for me and then she thanked us and was on her way.

Madame Butterfly then leaned over and mischievously said, "I can tell you her story, she's the chef's wife!".

So tell me Dear Reader, do you make up stories about other people when you are bored? Or are you addicted to your phone? Do you daydream often?

Cherry Ripe Parfait

An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 0 minutes

Makes 2 small dessert cups

• 50g/1.7ozs. dark chocolate
• 2 tablespoons cream
• 1.5 cups pitted cherries, semi frozen
• 1/2 cup dried cherries
• 1/2 cup desiccated coconut
• 120ml/4 flozs. coconut cream
• 4 tablespoons honey
• A few drops red food colouring (optional)
• Fresh cherries, shredded coconut and shaved dark chocolate to decorate

Step 1 - Melt the chocolate and cream together and mix until smooth. Use a teaspoon to drip it around the top rim of a glass and some in the bottom. Place in the fridge to set.

Step 2 - Place the cherries, dried cherries, coconut cream and honey in a food processor adding red colouring if you are using it (the mix will be a light brown otherwise). Blitz until smooth and then spoon in the glasses. Top with cherries, coconut and dark chocolate.