The Providence Journal / Sandor Bodo

Back when it was warm in New England, Providence’s Café Nuovo and its very fine pastry chef Laurie Nadeau shared a recipe for a Spring Parfait. This multilayered dessert was built using four seasonal recipes, with warm blueberries and date rice pudding, one chilled cream and a room temperature crispy topping.

Not that long afterward, the weather changed, and Nadeau introduced her Winter Parfait to the menu at Nuovo, which is at One Citizens Plaza.

Way back then, a reader requested the recipe but we had to give other chefs their turn first. And we can’t eat parfaits every day, now can we?

Once again, Nadeau has taken the time to share the multilayered recipe for a dessert that features a variety of flavors in one glass. The Winter Parfait requires the making of four recipes before it’s time to build each individual parfait. Baked apples, a carrot cake, an oatmeal raisin streusel and maple cream must all be whipped up first.

For the record, Nadeau has been making Café Nuovo’s desserts since 2000. She received a culinary degree from Johnson & Wales University in 1998 while she was also working as a prep cook and had a full-time job managing a pharmacy. After stints in kitchens in Nantucket and Naples, Fla., she moved back to Rhode Island and was hired at Café Nuovo.

MAPLE CREAM

1 cup milk

3/4 cup heavy cream

6 egg yolks

6 tablespoons granulated sugar

3/4 cup real maple syrup (not imitation)

1/2 cup heavy cream

In a small, heavy saucepan, bring milk and 3/4 cup cream to a boil over medium heat.

In a small bowl, whisk egg yolks while adding sugar. Slowly add hot milk mixture while whisking constantly. Return mixture to the saucepan.

Whisk rapidly and constantly over medium heat for a few minutes, until thickened enough to coat a spoon. Do not boil. Remove from heat.

Strain sauce into a bowl set over ice. Allow to cool completely, and add maple syrup.

In a medium bowl, whisk 1/2 cup cream until firm. Gently fold into chilled thickened sauce.

May be stored refrigerated for up to 3 days. Serve cold.

CARROT CAKE

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 1/4 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup light brown sugar

4 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cups carrots, peeled and grated

1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup coconut, lightly toasted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2 10-inch cake pans.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the oil with the sugars using an electric mixer. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Add flour mixture and stir just to combine. Fold in remaining ingredients to distribute evenly. Pour into pans.

Bake at 350 about 30 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking time. Cakes should be deep golden brown, and a toothpick inserted in center should come out clean.

Store up to 3 days at room temperature, 5 days in refrigerator, or 1 month in freezer.

BAKED APPLES

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

Pinch of salt

10 cups apples, peeled, sliced (McIntosh, Granny Smith, Cortland or Macoun)

4 tablespoons butter, unsalted, cut up

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 13-by-9-by-2 baking pan.

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add sliced apples and toss lightly to coat well. Pour into baking pan, and dot top with the butter.

Cover pan tightly with aluminum foil, then cut several small slits in top to allow steam to escape. Bake about 60 minutes, stirring gently halfway through baking time. Mixture should be thick and bubbly, and the apples should be tender.

May be refrigerated for up to 5 days, but warm before serving.

OATMEAL RAISIN STREUSEL

8 ounces butter, room temperature

1 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3 cups rolled oats

1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, or grease lightly.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars with an electric mixer until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes on medium-high speed. Beat in eggs and vanilla until well incorporated.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; stir into butter mixture just to combine. Add oats and raisins and mix well.

Drop by rounded teaspoons onto baking sheet about 1-inch apart. Bake about 10 to 12 minutes, until golden brown. Cool completely on pan.

Chop into 1/2-inch pieces

May be stored at room temperature in tightly covered container up to 7 days.