Vintage Cooking Adventures

It’s officially the greatest month of the year which means there will be a pumpkin on every flat surface of my house, cinnamon in every cup of tea I drink and spicy candles lit all day long. It’s also the month of listening to the Rocky Horror soundtrack, watching Over the Garden Wall and testing out weird and wonderful vintage recipes. I’ve been wondering what to make for a vintage cooking adventure so after a bit of searching, I stumbled upon a parfait based of a 1977’s recipe from the blog Quaint Cooking. It sounded absolutely delightful and my husband also was quite keen so that’s what we are making to kick off October; Halloween Triple Treat Parfait from 1977.

The original Triple Treat Parfait recipe comes from the 1977’s children’s cookbook, Amazing Magical Jell-O Desserts by Seymour Chwast. If you are interested in finding a copy, there are heaps of eBay and AbeBooks for only a few dollars (my copy cost me $4 from AbeBooks). The original recipe features a three layered parfait (hence the name tripe treat) with a bottom jelly layer, a middle whipped cream layer and a top chocolate pudding layer all topped with more whipped cream. Originally, the parfait is made with lime jelly layer flavoured with peppermint extract (which honestly sounds terrible) but Quaint Cooking suggested making the jelly orange flavoured which sounds much more appealing and chocolate and orange seem to go well together. For my own little tweak of this recipe, instant chocolate pudding isn’t something that’s easily come by in Australia so I will be using ready made chocolate mousse.

Ingredients
-1 packet of orange jelly
-1 cup of boiling water
-1 cup of cold water
-1 cup of whipped cream (if you’re from the US you can use Cool Whip)
-1 packet of chocolate pudding or chocolate mousse
-2 cups of cold milk
-any sprinkles or extra whipped cream for topping

Method:
-Dissolve gelatin in boiling water then mix in the cold water.
-Pour the jelly mixture into your parfait glasses filling 1/3 of the way full. Put in the fridge to set which can take a few hours.
-In a separate bowl, make your whipped cream by using cream and an electric beater or by following the steps of your instant dairy whipped topping packet mix. If you are using Cool Whip, your life is so much easier than mine.
-Spoon your whipped cream/dairy topping mixture on top of your set jelly layer filling up the parfait cup another third. Put your parfait cups back in the fridge to set.
-Once your whipped cream layer is in the fridge, you can start making your chocolate pudding layer. If you have instant chocolate pudding, follow the packet ingredients. I will be using instant chocolate mousse and will be following the packet instructions for that.
-When your chocolate is ready, spoon a layer on top of your whipped cream layer and let it set in fridge.
-Once your parfait is fully set, you can enjoy it as it or add some more whipped cream and sprinkles.
-Enjoy

This is rather a simple recipe to follow and it mainly remains as complicated as you wish to make it. Most of the layers are made from instant packets which is why I guess it’s designed for children to follow. If you live in the US, ready made Cool Whip and instant pudding is easy to find so feel free to use whatever you can to make your life easier.

Don’t stress if you don’t have parfait cups; I’m just using milkshake as I already have some but any cups will do. If you are looking for cheap parfait cups to buy, check out your local thrift stores as I see them there all the time for no more than a dollar or two. Depending on your cup size, this will determine how many parfaits you are able to make but this recipe can also be made in a trifle bowl which can then be served by scooping out a serving as needed.

These parfaits were delicious and I’m so glad I followed Quaint Cooking‘s advice and switching out the lime/peppermint jelly with orange jelly. I loved the combination of orange and chocolate and it was a lovely light dessert treat for a delightful October evening. I was happy to find it wasn’t too sweet but of course, it all depends on how sweet your jelly and chocolate layer is.

If you are planning to make this recipe, I’d definitely encourage you to change the lime/peppermint jelly to orange like Quaint Cooking suggests. If you have a moment, check out the original inspiration over on Quaint Cooking’s blog and show them some love. I want to make it clear this blog was inspired by them and although I have the original cook book the recipe came from, I take no credit for the flavour swap.

I will be filming and releasing another Vintage Cooking Adventure later on in the month so keep an eye out for that on my socials. I have a full month of spooky inspired content coming your way and I hope you are able to come back and enjoy that. Wishing you a delightful start to the Halloween season!

Note: This is not a sponsored post. All opinions and thoughts expressed are solely my own and not influenced in any way. There are no affiliate links and I do not benefit from any link clicks or purchases made.