Cherries Jubilee

 

Cherries Jubilee

3 tbs unsalted butter
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbs corn starch
1 tsp cardamom
1 tbs orange zest
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup orange juice
1 pound pitted dark cherries
1/4 cup kirsch or brandy
vanilla bean ice cream

Melt butter in pan, in small bowl mix sugar,
corn starch, cardamom, and orange zest.
Add water and orange juice to melted butter in pan.
Add sugar mixture to liquid ingredients in pan.
Last add pitted cherries to pan.
Cook on medium heat. 

Thanks to one of my readers I was able to borrow
a cherry pitter gadget which made short work of the pitting task.
The liquid looked too pale so I squished some of the cherries.

That's better. The cherries released some of their juices.
Cook mixture over medium heat till it thickens.
Turn off heat and add kirsch or brandy to one side of pan.
Immediately light liqueur with lighting implement.

Look to the right side of the pan to see the blue flame.
The idea is to have the alcohol burn off and
to be left with the flavor of the liqueur.

Serve up a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream,
then spoon the cherries jubilee over the top.
I should have let the cherries cool off a bit longer
because the ice cream started to melt too much.
However the dessert was decadent and delicious.
Wishing I had a set of fancy serving dishes,
but the glass bowl was adequate to the task.
The recipe can serve 4-6 people.
We have left over cherries.
Guess what's for dessert again today?
Enjoy !