These amazing cherries in Kirsch are one of my favorite ways of preserving cherries. They are the perfect topping for lots of desserts.
These cherries in kirsch are a revelation! I rarely drink alcohol and I cannot even remember ever having a glass of pure brandy, but these brandied cherries are addictive.
A word of caution: if you have too many of them, you will probably get tipsy... Nothing for kids or pregnant women. The non-alcoholic version of this recipe would be the cherries in syrup.
Our old and huge cherry tree is full again, so I am preserving cherries, making cherry butter, and baking cherry loaf cake or other cakes every day. I am so tired of pitting them though... you cannot even imagine... But it is all worth it!
I've made a first small batch of Kirsch cherries last year (only three way too small jars), let it rest for about 3-4 weeks, devoured them all, and almost wept because it was too late to make another batch... the season was over. This year I've made a triple batch already...
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What is Kirsch?
Kirsch or Kirschwasser (cherry water) is a German brandy made from double distillation of morello cherries and their stones.
It is a clear brandy, not sweet, quite pungent, but not as pungent as other German clear brandies, the so-called Obstler or fruit brandies.
It is usually served after dinner as a digestif in a small glass, a regular offering in restaurants. But it can also be used to make cocktails.
Kirschwasser is a necessary ingredient when baking one of the most popular German cakes – the Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte or the Black Forest Cake.
What do you need?
- Cherries: 1 kg/ 2.2 lbs sweet cherries. Heart or Bing cherries, whatever you happen to find.
- Kirschwasser: 250 ml/ 1 cup for one batch.
- Sugar: about 500 g/ 1.1 lb. I took slightly less when making the second and third batch and the brandied cherries are still amazing, actually, I did not notice any difference, they are still sweet enough.
- Spices: 1-2 star anise (they add so much flavor), ½ cinnamon stick, and 2 cloves.
- Lemon juice: about 1-2 tablespoons or to taste.
How to make cherries in Kirsch?
- Wash and stone the cherries. I use a cherry pitter (the Amazon link opens in a new tab); I would be lost without it (1).
- Place the cherries in a large pot. Add the sugar and spices. Stir well but carefully; you don't want to crush the cherries. (2)
- Turn on the heat, turn it on low, and let the sugar dissolve slowly. (3)
- Once the sugar is completely dissolved and the liquid starts to bubble, set the timer to 5 minutes. Simmer the cherries, stirring every minute or so.
- After 5 minutes, turn off the heat and let the cherries stand for 4-5 minutes.
- Add the Kirsch and lemon juice to taste. If you taste the cherries before adding the lemon, then add the lemon and taste again, you will notice the difference. The flavors just seem to come alive! (4)
- Place the cherries into sterilized jars, leaving about 2 cm/ 0.8 inches headspace.
- Pour the liquid into the jars; the fruit should be completely covered in liquid.
- Clean the rim of the jars very well, trying to remove any traces of foam if there are still any.
- Seal immediately.
- Let cool completely.
Tips
- Definitely use a cherry pitter. A cherry pitter will remove the stone and leave the cherry whole with just a hole in the middle. If you pit the cherries any other way, you might have to split them in two, and that is not good for this recipe.
- Don't forget the lemon juice, I really feel it makes a huge difference, it cuts through the sweetness and enlivens the flavors.
- Make sure that the pot you are using is large enough, once the sugar starts to boil it will form a lot of foam and if the pot is too small the foam will boil over.
- Remove as much of the foam as possible after the cherries have cooled slightly for 4-5 minutes. There will be a lot of it once the sugar starts to boil, but most of it will be gone at the end.
- Clean the rim of the jars with kitchen paper before sealing.
- As mentioned above these brandied cherries are really boozy, don't drive after having too many of them, and don't serve children or pregnant women.
How to store?
- The cherries in Kirsch keep well in a dark cool place like the cellar.
- You can also keep them refrigerated if you like.
- Allow them 3-4 weeks of resting time before serving; the flavors will develop.
- They will keep well for long (at least 6 months and probably longer), sugar and alcohol are good preservatives.
How to serve?
- My favorite way: on top of ice cream.
- Also amazing on top of German waffles or pancakes.
- Try them on semolina or rice pudding.
- Add to cake fillings or use them to decorate a cake.
- Use the liquid to soak cake bases before filling.
- Try to avoid the temptation of spooning a whole jar as it is; you will get drunk...
More ways of using fresh cherries
Recipe
Cherries in Kirsch
Ingredients
- 1 kg/ 2.2 lbs sweet cherries
- 400-500 g/ 14-17 oz/ 2-3 cups granulated sugar Note
- 250 ml/ 8.5 fl.oz/ 1 cup Kirsch brandy
- 1 large star anise or 2 smaller
- ½ stick cinnamon
- 2 cloves
- 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice or more to taste
Instructions
- Stone the cherries with a cherry pitter, they should remain whole with only a hole in the middle. Place in a large pot, a lot of foam will form once the sugar and the cherries are cooking, it should not have a chance to boil over.
- Add the sugar and stir carefully to mix. Add the star anise, cinnamon, and cloves. Turn on the heat and heat gently, stirring often but carefully, until the sugar dissolves completely.
- Once the liquid starts to boil, set the timer to 5 minutes. Simmer stirring every minute or so. Remove the pot from the heat and let cool for another 4-5 minutes. Remove as much of the foam as possible, there will be a lot of it when the sugar starts to boil, but it will be pretty much gone at the end.
- Add the Kirsch and some lemon juice to taste. Stir well. Discard the spices. Place the cherries into sterilized jars. Cover completely with the liquid. Clean the rim of the jars with kitchen paper and seal. Let cool completely.
- Keep in the refrigerator or in a dark cool place. Let them develop the flavors for about 3-4 weeks before serving.
Harry says
Hi Adina,
This article and your article about "german black forest cake" piqued my interest. I'm very impressed by them!
But I do have some questions:
1. How would using morello cherries (very dark), instead of sweet cherries, make a difference?
2. One of the ways you've suggested serving this recipe is to "[a]dd to cake fillings". How exactly do I go about incorporating this recipe into the making of the cherry filling of a german black forest cake?
---- (Please bear in mind that, where I live, shops don't sell jarred morello cherries, but they do sell fresh morello cherries.) ----
I've come across your website, because I miss the boozy black forest cakes my family used to buy from the cake shops in nice hotels. Where I live now, unfortunately, shops make black forest cake with candied glace cherries. YUCK!!!! 😛
Cheers,
Harry
Adina says
Hi Harry. I agree about the glace cherries, disgusting and they have no place in a Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte. Use fresh morello cherries just as I described, and cook them with cherry juice from a bottle. The filling might be a bit tarter (canned cherries are lightly sweetened), if you like tart leave it as it is; otherwise, add some sugar to taste. To use these Kirsch cherries, drain them but keep the liquid. Use a few tablespoons of the liquid to soak the cakes. Measure the remaining liquid, add enough water to have the amount needed in the recipe and thicken the liquid as described in the recipe, adding the cherries at the very end. However, I never made Black Forest Cake using these cherries, so I can't guarantee it works, but this is how I would go about it. It would make quite a boozy cake, I imagine. Happy Baking!
Taylor says
Candied cherries are yuck! You’re right! I’m very interested in the answers to your questions😄
Donald T Coker says
Do these need to be water bathed?
Adina says
No. The alcohol preserved.
Lynda says
Hi there! I just picked 45 lbs of tart cherries. Do you think they would work in place of sweet cherries?
Adina says
I think they'd be great as well.
Leslie McDowell says
Just harvest pounds of cherries off my trees and this is how I'm planning to preserve them!!! Given the above directions, can I then traditionally can them, using a hot bath?
Adina says
Alcohol und sugar preserve the cherries without the need of canning. Alcohol is a preserving agent, since at 40% alcohol per volume, no bacteria can survive in it.
Nancy Wallace Dillard says
Do the cherries have to sit 3-4 weeks or can you use them the day after? I wanted to make a black forest cake for my birthday tomorrow.
Adina says
Hi Nancy, they need some time to absorb the alcohol and the flavor, tomorrow would be too soon. I always make Black Forest Cake with canned cherries in light syrup and add some Kirsch to them.
Andrea says
Just set three jars aside to cool, planning on making a black forest cake for Thanksgiving. There were a few delicious spoonfuls left in the bottom of the pan. This time of year I could only find canned tart cherries in water, so I used the full three cups of sugar. I cannot wait to see how they taste in three weeks. Thanks for the recipe
Adina says
Thank you for the feedback, Andrea.