This easy, no bake Strawberry and Lemon Parfaits are ready in 5 minutes, perfect for breakfast or a quick treat and are full of amazing flavours!
Hiya everyone. First off I feel the need to apologise for the lack of recipes last week. I was on bed rest last week as my back is horrific again. I’m just so frustrated with my body.
If I actually do something and my back hurts I won’t do it again, if I’m forced to do something then I have to leave the situation, but when I haven’t knowingly done anything and I can’t get out of bed, it’s just annoying along with the agony.
It doesn’t seem to be weather dependent which a lot of people notice with arthritis. Mine is always bad, but then gets extra bad. The pain is indescribable. I haven’t been able to get comfortable, I had to get a new back brace with extra supports so I’m basically immobile from my ribs to my hips and I have a new lumbar support cushion.
I had to be wedged into bed the other night with cushions as I could not sleep due to the pain. I just needed some relief as gravity hurt my body.
Anyway I can’t sit around anymore, so I just have to make really simple recipes that are ready in 5 minutes, so I can sit back down again and rest. These Strawberry and Lemon Parfaits are also great for when it’s super hot and you don’t want to turn the oven on!
If that is the positive in this “negative” situation, then I’ll take it. If it was the dead of winter, I couldn’t be making no bake, summery desserts! I say “negative” because although I’m always in pain, I try not to actually be negative. I feel like these are the cards I’ve been dealt because I’m strong enough to deal with it.
It’s just annoying when other people don’t appreciate that sometimes I have to put myself first and avoid things that I know are going to cause pain. I’ve spent so long putting everyone else above me, but nobody else goes through the pain I do.
Anyway, let’s talk about these gorgeous Strawberry and Lemon Parfaits! Layers of whipped cream, yoghurt, strawberries, lemon, cubes of cake and granola marry together to make a breakfast/dessert hybrid you are going to fall head over heels in love with!
I mean, any excuse to eat cake for breakfast, right? But, if you don’t feel like eating cake before 8am, then you can leave it out and these will still be glorious.
This is a very versatile recipe and you can either make it totally breakfast appropriate, full on dessert, or somewhere in between. If you just want yoghurt, strawberries, lemon and granola then go ahead. If you want the cream and the cake and everything else, then great. This truly is a recipe that can adapt to how you’re feeling haha!
Had a crap day? Treat yourself to all the cream and cake! Trying to be good? Yoghurt is the way to go! Wanting something in between? Go cream with no cake or cake with all yoghurt. Fancy crumbled biscuits instead of granola? Go ahead!
The possibilities are endless! I hope you get to try these Strawberry and Lemon Parfaits and if you do, let me know how you like them!
Strawberry and Lemon Parfaits
Ingredients
- 2 cups (300g) diced fresh strawberries
- Zest of 1 medium sized lemon
- 3 tbsp white sugar
- 1/2 cup (120ml) double/heavy cream
- 1 cup (250g) natural yoghurt/Greek yoghurt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups (115g) white cake, pound cake/Madeira etc. cut into small cubes
- 1/2 cup (60g) granola
- Basil/mint to garnish, optional
Instructions
- Place the strawberries, lemon zest and sugar into a medium sized bowl. Stir to coat the berries in sugar and then leave to one side.
- Place the cream into a medium sized bowl and whisk until it reaches soft peak. You want it to just hold its shape. Fold in the yoghurt and vanilla extract and mix until well combined and smooth.
- Start to assemble: take 2 large or 4 small glasses/jars and spoon some of the fruit mixture (which should now be glossy and have a sauce) into the bottom of your glasses.
- Add a layer of the yoghurt mixture, a layer of cake cubes, then layer fruit, cream and cake again. Finish your parfaits with cream and then fruit. Sprinkle granola on the top, garnish with a strawberry and mint/basil. Then, dig in!
- Strawberry and Lemon Parfaits will keep covered, in the fridge, for 2 days.
Notes
- Omit the cream and use and extra 1/2 cup of yoghurt.
- Omit the cake and use an extra 1/2 cup granola, using the granola to layer in between the fruit and cream.
- Use vanilla yoghurt instead of natural and omit the vanilla extract
Annie is a self-taught baker, recipe developer and food photographer, who has an obsession with dessert and beauty! 
