Next time you are at the farmer’s market, be sure to pick up a good supply of bing cherries because they are especially good this year. Today I will share a few recipes for summer menus- a quick and delicious bourbon cherry compote and a super easy dessert to take full advantage of this seasonal gem. The best part is how effortless they both are.
Bourbon Cherry Compote
These boozy bourbon cherries provide an instant upgrade to ice cream, cheescake, oatmeal, you name it. Shown below, we will top a ricotta brioche toast with the compote. The alcohol cooks out, obviously, but the flavor remains. This recipe is easy and extremely scalable and only takes about 30 minutes total. Feel free to adjust the ingredients to taste.
1 cup pitted cherries
3 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp bourbon
1 tsp vanilla extract
squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Combine cherries, brown sugar and bourbon in a pot. Cook over medium to low heat for about 20-25 min, or until the cherries release liquid and start to smell deliciously fragrant. (You don’t want the liquid to completely cook away. ) Remove from heat, add the vanilla extract and a squeeze of lemon, allow to cool.
Meanwhile,
lightly whisk the ricotta with a little added milk to fluff it up.
Toast brioche slices, spread with ricotta, and top with the cherry compote for an indulgent breakfast or brunch.
Also delicious at the end of the day with a glass of wine.
Moving along to dessert, because there is a place for cherries at any meal…
Cherry Clafoutis
This recipe is every bit as easy as the compote, with an even shorter prep time of about 5 minutes. Custardy and delicious, this dessert is so low maintenance that it can almost be a spontaneous afterthought when you are cooking dinner (if you care to show off) because you’ll likely already have the ingredients.
1 1/4 cup milk
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup flour
1 lb cherries
Pit the cherries. Mix all other ingredients in a blender or food processor. Butter a shallow dish or dishes if you chose to make individual desserts and place the pitted cherries in the bottom leaving a little space between them. Pour remaining ingredients about 2/3 as high as the cherries. Cook at 375 for about an hour if you are making one big dessert, or less if you are making individual desserts, depending on your oven. These individual ones cooked about 35-40 minutes. The key is to cook them until lightly browned. Remove and allow to cool slightly. Excellent served warm or cold. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar before serving.
When Life gives you cherries, invite friends for a great meal.
