cherry liqueur

This is a composite sketch of the perfect cherry pie. The buttery, well-seasoned crust is adapted from the Cherry Pie That’ll Kill Ya at Butter and Scotch, a bar and bakery in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, that holds an occasional Twin Peaks Tuesday, with cocktails and diner foods named after the characters in David Lynch’s quirky 1990s television show. It uses a mock buttermilk crust, meaning that you curdle regular whole milk with apple cider vinegar instead of having to buy buttermilk. Instructions are given for a lattice top, but you could make it with a double crust or the chevron shown here, depending on your mood. The filling is all about maximizing the flavor of pure sour cherries (sometimes labeled pie cherries). This is the pie to make at the height of sour-cherry season, or using a bounty you freeze yourself (see the tip below). Frozen sour cherries are also available online. The pie will keep for up to five days, refrigerated and wrapped in plastic.

‘Twin Peaks’ Cherry Pie

120 milliliters cold whole milk, plus more if needed

apple cider vinegar

unbleached all-purpose flour

sugar

salt

(2 sticks) cold unsalted butter,

60 milliliters whole milk

Raw sugar,

granulated sugar (see tip)

cornstarch

fine sea salt

Make the crust: In a liquid measuring cup, stir together the milk and vinegar. In a large mixing bowl, toss the flour, sugar and salt with a fork to combine. Using a pastry cutter, cut in the butter cubes until the butter is the size of small peas. Using a fork or large spoon, slowly add the liquid in 4 or 5 additions, stopping after every pour to combine, until the dough just sticks together. Knead lightly in the bowl until it forms a taut ball.

Separate dough into 2 equal-size disks and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least an hour. (Dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or frozen for up to 2 months.)

Make the filling: Mix the cherries, sugar, cornstarch and salt in a medium-size saucepan and cook over medium heat until cherries thaw (if frozen) and the cornstarch and sugar dissolve. Reduce heat to medium-low, stirring occasionally to keep cherries from burning, and cook until the mixture thickens slightly. (Total cooking time should be about 20 minutes.) Add liqueur, stir and remove from heat. Let cool to room temperature.

Assemble the pie: Heat oven to 425 degrees. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out 1 disk of dough into a 1/8-inch (3 millimeters) thick circle about 15 inches (38 centimeters) in diameter. Transfer to a 9-inch/23 centimeter deep-dish pie plate and chill in refrigerator as you work on the top crust.

Working quickly, roll out a second disk into an 1/8-inch (3 millimeters) thick rectangle about 15 inches (38 centimeters) long and 12 inches (30 centimeters) wide. Cut into 6 strips about 2 inches (5 centimeters) wide. Remove pie plate from refrigerator and fill with cherry filling. Weave lattice strips over the top. Seal, trim and crimp the edges. Or cut dough into five zigzag strips and lay on top of pie filling, trimming excess.

In a small bowl, whisk the egg and milk to make an egg wash. Brush the crust with it, and sprinkle with raw sugar.

On a baking sheet, bake pie for 20 minutes at 425 degrees, rotating once halfway through. Lower heat to 350 degrees and bake another 30 to 40 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the filling is thick and glossy. Juice may bubble onto baking sheet. Remove pie to wire rack to cool before serving. The pie can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Jim Meehan's Singapore Sling

pineapple juice

Cherry Heering

lime juice

Cointreau

Bénédictine

grenadine

Angostura bitters

Orange wheel,

Shake all liquid ingredients with ice. Strain into a chilled Collins glass filled with ice. Garnish with half an orange wheel.

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well. Strain into a highball glass with ice cubes. Garnish with a pineapple wedge and a maraschino cherry before serving.

Singapore Sling

Lime

Pineapple

Grenadine

Angostura Bitters

Cherry Liqueur

DOM Benedictine

Shake

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well.

Strain

Strain into a highball glass with ice cubes.

Garnish

Garnish with a pineapple wedge and a maraschino cherry before serving.

A delightfully festive yule log, packed with delicious chocolate, cherry and kirsch flavours!

Black Forest Yule Log

+ 1 tbsp) plain (all purpose) flour

g (3 tbsp) cocoa powder

eggs,

150 g (¾ cup) caster sugar

0.5 tsp baking powder

0.25 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

65 g (¼ cup + 1 tbsp) unsalted butter, melted

vanilla

tbsp kirsch

150 g (1 cup + 2 tbsp) dark chocolate

tbsp morello cherry conserve

220 ml (¾ cup + 3 tbsp) double (heavy) cream, cold

icing sugar

kirsch

275 g (2 cup + 2 tbsp) dark chocolate, broken into chunks

265 ml (1 cup + 2 tbsp) double (heavy) cream

white chocolate

cherries

holly leaves

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Lightly brush a 13”x9” swiss roll tin with melted butter, line the base of the tin with parchment paper, then brush lightly again to stick the paper down evenly. Set aside.

Into a small bowl, sift together the flour and cocoa.

Place the eggs, sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment, whisk at a medium-low speed for 3 minutes to combine and dissolve the sugar. The mixture will have fine bubbles throughout.

Increase the speed to medium-high and whisk until thickened and pale with fine, foamy bubbles, around 5 minutes of beating time.

Increase the speed again to high and whisk the eggs mixture until pale and doubled in size, another 5 minutes.

Reduce the speed to medium low and drizzle in the melted butter and vanilla, mixing together. Immediately reduce the speed to low and add in the sifted flour and cocoa powder, mixing until nearly combined. Turn the mixer off, detach the whisk attachment and use it to finish folding the flour in by hand, to avoid losing too much air from the mixture.

Carefully pour the mixture evenly over the pan, then gently tip the pan to spread the cake mixture out across the pan. Use an offset spatula to help, if required.

Gently drop the pan twice on your worktop to help level the mixture. Bake until puffed and firm to the touch, but still soft enough to hold a shallow impression when gently poked, about 12 minutes.

Immediately after removing the baked cake from the oven, place on a cooling rack and cover tightly with some foil, crimping around the sides to seal. This keeps the cake moist whilst cooling, so it will roll more smoothly and not crack. Allow to cool to room temperature, about 30-60 minutes.

For the cake

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

Melt the chocolate. You can do this either using a bowl over a pan of simmering water or in the microwave in short bursts. Stir until smooth and shiny with no lumps of unmelted chocolate.

Spread the chocolate out over the prepared parchment paper to a few millimetres thickness. Using an offset spatula or spoon, create texture and ruffles in the chocolate, to resemble the bark of a tree.

Place in the fridge for the chocolate to firm up and set.

For the chocolate bark

Place the cream and sugar in a large bowl and whisk until you reach the soft peak stage.

Tip in the kirsch and mix in, adding more according to your taste.

For the filling

Once the cake is cool, remove from the tin and place on a clean worktop, parchment side down. I like to place a clean tea towel under the parchment to stop it sliding around whilst I’m filling and rolling it. Brush the cake generously all over with the kirsch.

Gently spread the cherry conserve over the cake, leaving a border of around 1cm all round the edges of the cake.

Spread the whipped kirsch cream over the conserve, again leaving the border around the edge of the cake as before.

Starting from a shorter end of the cake, roll it up fairly tightly, removing the parchment paper from the bottom as you go. I keep the last bit of parchment on, and use it to wrap the whole cake up once rolled so I can make sure it’s a firm roll. Place the cake roll in the fridge whilst making the ganache.

To assemble the cake

Place the chocolate in a large mixing bowl. Heat the cream in a pan until steaming and the edges are starting to bubble. Pour the hot cream into the bowl with the chocolate, pushing to immerse the chocolate into the hot cream. Leave to stand for a few minutes, then stir to combine. If the chocolate has not completely melted, pop it into the microwave for a few seconds to heat some more and stir until melted together and velvety smooth. Pop in the fridge to speed up the cooling process.

Once the ganache has cooled sufficiently (it should still be soft but not firm), beat using an electric whisk until light and slightly paler.

For the whipped ganache

Remove the cake from the fridge and unroll from the parchment. It should have firmed and be easier to handle. Place on your serving plate.

Cover the top of the cake generously with the soft whipped chocolate ganache. You may not need it all.

Remove the baking tray with the chilled chocolate from the fridge. Break the chocolate into small shards. I use a knife to break it to avoid melting it with the warmth of my hands. Gently press pieces of chocolate all over the ganache, textured side up, to create the “bark” of the log.

Grate some white chocolate over the yule log, then decorate the top with some holly leaves and a few cherries. Enjoy!

Finishing up

Cherry Pit Liqueur is made using the leftover pits of cherries  I am a sucker when it comes to using anything leftover, unless I am sure that there is no other use of it!

Easy Cherry Pit Liqueur with Cherry Syrup

Cherry cherry pits

250 ml tsipouro or other alcohol

rose geranium leaves

250 ml homemade cherry syrup

Put the cherry pits and the rose geranium...

Put the cherry pits and the rose geranium leaves in a jar and add enough alcohol to cover the pits. (You can also add a few whole cherries which break so as to release some juice).

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Top Tags

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The most viewed cherry liqueur recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine