Cherry recipes

Brandy soaked cherries

1lb cherries
4oz sugar
1 cinnamon stick
5 fl oz brandy

Prick the whole cherries all over with a needle. Place the sugar in a suacepan with 5 fl oz water and heat gently until the sugar dissolves. Add the cherries and cinnamon stick and simmer very gently for 4 - 5 minutes.

Strain the cherries, reserving the liquid. Reheat the liquid with the brandy and boil for 3 - 4 minutes.

Place the cherries in a 1pt sterilised jar and pour in the liquid until the cherries are completely covered. Cover with a lid and store in the fridge for up to 2 months.


Taken from Good Houskeeping Cooks Year.

Cherry butter (not sure why its called butter!!)

4lb cherries
grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
2lb granulated sugar

Stone the cherries, crack some of the stones, extract the kernels, then blanch and skin them. Add the lemon rind and juice to the fruit and kernels and layer with the sugar in a bowl and leave overnight. Bring slowly to the boil, simmer for 15 - 20 minutes, then boil rapidly until the mixture is very thick. Turn into small sterilised jars, cover and seal.

Taken from Preserving Cordon Bleu

Morelo cherry jam

4lb morello cherries
scant teacup water
1 teasp tartaric acid or 1/2 pt redcurrant juice
3lb granulated sugar

Stone the fruit and tie the stones in a muslin bag. Put the fruit into a preserving pan with the water and stones. Simmer gently until the cherries are tender, then add the tartaric acid or redcurrant juice, followed by the warmed sugar and stir until dissolved. Boil rapidly until jam will set when tested. Remove bag of stones and put into sterilized jars. Seal when cold.

From Preserving, Cordon Bleu

The following, is a smidge fidly, but can recommend it thoroughly.

CHERRY CREAM TARTLETS

Pastry

125g/4˝oz butter
90g/3˝oz icing sugar
scant teaspoon vanilla essence
pinch of salt
1 egg
250g/9oz plain flour

Cream the softened butter with the sifted icing sugar, vanilla essence, salt and egg. Sift over the flour and knead all the ingredients together to form a pastry dough. Cover and leave for two hours in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 200C, 400F. Roll out the pastry thinly to line ten to 12, 3” flan tins. Prick the pastry with a fork and bake blind for 10 minutes. Remove tartlets from the oven, but leave in their tins

Filling

Cherries
150ml/Ľ pint double cream
6 tablespoons milk
50g/20z butter
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
20g/ľoz cornflour
pinch of salt
2 teaspoons caster sugar

Put the cream, milk, butter, egg and egg yolk, cornflour, salt and sugar into a pan and cook gently, stirring constantly until thickened.

To make up

Heat the oven to 180C/350F. Put some cherries in the bottom of each flan case. Pour some cream mixture over the cherries, and bake for 20 mins. Allow to cool slightly in their tins, then transfer to a wire rack to cool


I tend to make double the cream mixture, as it is delicious.

I think they are best served warm.

valmarg

Many thanks for all the above.I almost wish it was pouring with rain then I could get started!