A Japanese ice cream

A Japanese ice cream parfait is a confectionery Frankenstein.

I remember parfaits from my childhood: a tall glass filled with layers of sweet sauce and ice cream, topped with whiped cream and a maraschino cherry. The waitress at Genetti's sometimes gave me an extra cherry which made me feel very special.

The Japanese go a bit further with their parfait artistry. Here's how to make an "Apple and Satsuma Imo Parfait"

In the bottom, place a few slices of banana in an apple flavoured syrup. Add vanilla ice cream, more syrup then another scoop of ice cream. Top that with a thick sprinkling of cornflakes, a dollop of marshmallow sauce, and another scoop of ice cream. Finally, pipe on some mashed sweet potatoes, dust with cinnamon, and add two rolled cookies.

But no maraschino cherry. I was disappointed.