The Chocolate Parfait That Never Was for "Sailor Moon"

♥ Find the special Valentine I made for you at the end of this post! ♥

          Ah, the mid 90s when America got a big, sugary, moon-tastic taste of the Japanese Magical Girl genre. "Sailor Moon" (AKA "Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon"/"Bishojo Senshi Sailor Moon", sailor because of their outfits), an anime centering around five celestially connected, miniskirt clad heroins of love and justice based on the manga of the same name by Naoko Takeuchi, began airing in the US in 1995. The show quickly claimed hearts across the nation (myself included) and was the gateway to the wonderful world of Japanese animation for many girls at the time, much like "Dragon Ball" for many boys.

          Aside from the friendship of the other Sailor Senshi ("soldiers", or scouts in the US version), Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Venus, the main character Serena (Sailor Moon, named Usagi in the Japanese version, which means rabbit—there's a moon myth behind that) had a best friend named Molly (Naru in the Japanese) who was unaware of her friend's secret, celestial identity. Poor, Molly. She got hung up in some pretty crumby situations because of her closeness to Serena and even fell in love with one of the many, hot, transient baddies which culminated in the heart-wrenching scene shown below.

(Japanese language, English subtitles. Video from John Miragias.)

          Dear Molly. To her credit from what I can remember, even though she had such a devastating experience, the emotional aftermath of which wasn't easy to get through, she eventually pulled through with her optimism, confidence, and wise outlook on life. What an awesome young woman. The awesome non-magical girl of the show. I'd like to dedicate this post to Molly and Neflite (Nephrite in the original Japanese, named after a variety of jade) and the selfless love on the one end and deep affection on the other that they shared too briefly, the symbol of which, to me, is the chocolate parfait. The one that never was.

Molly & Neflite's Chocolate Parfait
(Makes 1 Large Parfait to Share, or 2 Smaller Parfaits)

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Ingredients:
1 Box (3.9 oz.) Instant Chocolate Pudding Mix
1 1/4 Cup Chocolate Soy Milk (or regular milk is fine)
Cool Whip (small Container)
1-2 Pieces Chocolate Cake OR 1-2 Brownies OR ~1 Cup Crumbled Chocolate Cookies
1/2 Cup Fresh Strawberries (or fresh raspberries)
2 Chocolate Pocky or Pepero Biscuit Sticks (or 4 if you're making 2 parfaits. Found in the Asian food section of your grocery store, Target, World Market, or an Asian market.)
2 Vanilla Wafers
Piece of a Chocolate Bar, finely grated (optional)

Important Items:
1 Large OR 2 Small, Tall, See-through Glasses

Directions:
1. In a medium bowl whisk together the pudding powder & milk until it's thoroughly combined. Let it set a few minutes to thicken (chill if you need to). Into another medium bowl, pour a little less than half of the pudding & fold in a couple large scoops of Cool Whip until a light chocolate mousse is created. Thinly slice several of the strawberries & have them at the ready.

2. If using cake or brownies, cut into a square about 1/2" thick (I simply used 1 thick, dense brownie & cut it through the middle to have 2 squares). Using a small circle cookie cutter or a measuring cup, cut into a circle close to the size of your glass & then press it down into the bottom of the glass. If using cookie crumbles, spoon in enough crumbs to make about a 1/2" layer. Spoon a layer of pudding onto the cake, brownie, or cookies, careful to not get pudding up the sides of the glass (if this happens wipe with the tip of a paper towel). Next, spoon on a layer of the chocolate mousse. The next layer can either be another circle of cake/brownie/cookie crumbles or sliced strawberries. Either way you choose, use the other item for the next layer (i.e. brownie & then berry or berry & then brownie). Top with another layer of pudding & another of mousse & then dollop several spoonfuls of Cool Whip on top (Cool Whip holds its shape & consistency for much longer & way better than Redi-whip which dissolves/breaks down pretty quickly). Decorate the top of your parfait with finely grated chocolate (optional), wafers, chocolate covered biscuit sticks (Pocky or Pepero), & fresh fruit (I also added little hearts cut from brownie, one of them sticking up with a toothpick).

Click here to download an image file that has a blank "from" space
so you can share the love with your "Sailor Moon" friends!

* Stay tuned for the anime reboot of Naoko Takeuchi's "Sailor Moon"
to be simulcast internationally this July (2014)! Totes fraking awesome!! *