And just like that fall is here. I have been a little been MIA here on the blog due to a landslide of projects I had to finish, and now that I am able to come out of my styling cave, I thought of doing something that’s totally in season: grapes! The concord kind.

These purple gems are so pretty and their colour is so intense I want to use them on everything. Mind you, they have quite a delicate flavour, so when pairing them up you gotta be careful not use something super overpowering like peanut butter. For this little dish I used simple vanilla bean ice cream; I saved some time by getting a non-dairy version from the store (the coconut one!). I topped it all with some crunch factor, which is the walnut praline – it makes it super fall-y!

Roasting the grapes intensifies the flavour and brings out the colour in them. They honestly look like they’re bursting (look at the photo above!). This dessert is relatively easy to make and looks so cool! Trust me, if you serve this at your next dinner party your guests will be raving about it.

Let’s get parfai’ng!

The Concord Parfait: Roasted Concord Grapes, Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, and Walnut Praline (Vegan)

Serves 4-6

Ingredients
– 1lb concord grapes

For the praline
– 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
– 1/2 cup sugar
– 3/4 cup brown sugar
– 1/4 cup maple syrup
– 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
– 3 tablespoons non-salted margarine (or butter, if you’re doing a regular version)
– 1/2 cup cashew milk (from a carton) or any other non-dairy milk (you can use regular milk too)
– Pinch of salt

– Vanilla ice cream of your choice

Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven at 350F. Place parchment paper on a baking sheet, then place the grapes (stem and all) on the tray and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until skin bursts and juices start to get gooey. Remove from oven and set aside.
2. Before getting the praline started, place parchment paper on a tray or plate where you’ll empty your praline mix, have it ready to go. Now, grab a big heavy-bottom pot to make the praline (I say big because the mix bubbles up and you don’t want a sticky mess on your stove). Place all the praline ingredients in the pot over medium heat and start stirring. Let the mix simmer for about 5 minutes, you’ll notice it’ll start to thicken, continue to stir quickly and carefully until you can see the mix turn into a candy-like state (more like a super thick syrup), pour a bit over the parchment paper and if it sets then pour it all and you’re good to go, if it’s too sticky, then keep stirring over the heat for another 2 minutes, then pour and let it cool.

Note: don’t let the pot cool down as it could seize! If this happens no biggy, you’ll just have to scrape the praline from the pot haha.

When cold, break it apart so you can use it on the parfait.

Assemble

Pluck the roasted grapes from the vine (literally) and place a bunch of them at the bottom of a glass, then layer ice cream, praline, and more grapes. Top with a pretty grape and a little piece of mint for contrast and garnish.

Enjoy!