Cherries Jubilee
Kitchen Tested 
- Yield 8 servings
- Prep 10 mins
- Cook 15 mins
Fruit and fire make for an unforgettable dessert.
Mark Boughton Photography / styling: Teresa Blackburn
Recipe courtesy of Pastry Chef Peter Max Dierkes of Rat's Restaurant at Grounds for Sculpture, Hamilton, N.J.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds sweet cherries, pitted and halved
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup kirsch or cognac
- Vanilla ice cream (enough for eight 1/2-cup scoops)
Instructions
- Sprinkle sweet cherries with 1 tablespoon sugar and let sit about 30 minutes to draw out the juices. Pour off the juice into a medium saucepan.
- Mix 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 1 tablespoon sugar. Add to juice and stir to combine. Add butter and about one-fourth of the cherries and mix well. Cook over low heat until the sugar has dissolved.
- Add remaining cherries and bring the mixture to a boil. While the pan is hot remove it from the flame of the stove and add the liquor. If your pan is hot enough, the liquor should ignite when you return it to the stove (if you are cooking on an electric stove, use a stick lighter or a long kitchen match). Gently shake the skillet over the hot burner until the flames die out. Much, but not all, of the alcohol will burn off.
- Serve warm over a scoop of ice cream.
Recipe courtesy of Pastry Chef Peter Max Dierkes of Rat’s Restaurant at Grounds for Sculpture, Hamilton, N.J.
