Sometimes, using a shop bought ingredient is a life savour when it comes to quickly making something delicious and fuss free.
Here I used Opies Foods cherries to create two accompaniments to a chocolate dessert (a gooey chocolate pie or brownie is perfect with both these).
Recipe 1 – Black cherries with Kirsch jelly, whipped Greek yogurt, almond brittle
This is a simple and lazy dessert that can be served on its own or as an accompaniment to chocolate brownie, a gooey chocolate cake or a syruped halva even.
Ingredients (serves 6 as an accompaniment)
- 1 Opies jar of black cherries with Kirsch, 370g
- 1 and ½ gelatine leaves
- 100ml double cream
- 75g Greek yogurt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the almond brittle
- 100g almond flakes
- 65g unsalted butter
- 30ml water
- 175g caster sugar
- 1 tsp of honey or corn syrup
- ¼ tsp baking soda
Method
Start by making the jelly. Soak the gelatine in a bowl with cold water for 10 minutes.
Strain the jar of cherries and cut them in half, reserving the liquid.
In a saucepan, warm the liquid from the jar, squeeze the gelatine leaves to remove excess water and stir into the hot cherry liquid to dissolve.
In a bowl, mix the cherries with their liquid and pour into six very small bowls. Put in the fridge to set.
In another bowl, whip the cream with the yogurt and the vanilla and transfer to a piping bag.
To make the brittle, put the water, sugar, honey and butter in a saucepan and bring to a medium heat. Stir to dissolve the sugar and leave to caramelize, shaking the pan but not stirring. Remove from the heat when a sugar thermometer shows 154 C or the mix is bubbling and has a deep caramel colour. Stir the almond flakes into it and immediately the baking soda. Empty quickly on a piece of parchment or a greased baking tin and use a spatula rubbed with butter to flatten as much as possible. Leave the brittle to cool and cut with your hands in irregular pieces to serve with the cherries and cream. The brittle will last 2 days in an airtight container with baking parchment between the layers.
Recipe 2 – Black Cherries with Kirsch no churn ice cream
Ingredients
- 1 Opies jar of black cherries with Kirsch, 370g
- 1 tin condensed milk, 397g
- 350ml double cream
- 3g of ice cream stabilizer, if available
- A pinch of salt
Method
Put the double cream in a bowl and whisk in the ice cream stabiliser and salt. Leave it to stand for 15 minutes and whisk to soft peaks. Add the condensed milk and stir.
Strain the jar of cherries. Reserve the liquid and pulse the cherries to break them down slightly.
Add the cherries to the cream and milk and stir well to incorporate. Empty the mix into a freeze proof container and freeze for at least 5 hours. Take out of the freezer 30 minutes before serving.
