Roasted cherries served on top of strained yogurt, a simple and wonderful cherry dessert made with fresh sweet cherries.
You will not believe how good these roasted cherries are. Amazing!
I made them a few days ago and we had the cherries with some strained yogurt. We liked them so much that I made another batch the very next day.
Ingredients
Cherries:
- I used cherries from our huge cherry tree in the garden. They are called “heart cherries” in Germany, they are heart-shaped, large, firm, and plump, are sweet, and become really dark when perfectly ripe. Honestly, the best cherries I have ever eaten...
- They are rather similar to the bing cherries, during the year we spend in the UK, they were the only cherries I would buy because they were the only ones that would taste as good as our cherries.
- But, of course, any other sweet cherry sort will be fine as well, these two are just the sorts I know best.
Yogurt:
- I used low-fat, creamy yogurt, similar to Greek yogurt. You can use full-fat, if you wish.
Spices:
- A vanilla bean pod, a cinnamon stick, 2 star anise, and some cardamom pods. These spices really enhance the flavor of the roasted cherries with strained yogurt, yet they are optional.
- You can make perfectly delicious roasted cherries, without any spices at all, maybe just a teaspoon of pure vanilla extract.
Orange juice and elderflower syrup:
- I always use freshly squeezed orange juice.
- The elderflower syrup is optional as well, I love it but you can leave it out entirely or replace it with any other syrup of choice. I use it mostly because I always seem to have in the pantry.
How to roast cherries?
This recipe is so easy but the taste will knock your socks off. (Can I actually say that when referring to food?).
It is something completely appropriate for guests as well, you can make it well in advance, it looks great on the plate, it is light after a several course meal and the taste... well, I've mentioned that before... AMAZING!
How to make strained yogurt:
The strained yogurt has to be made in advance, you should start with it the afternoon or the evening before you want to serve it.
- You will need a sieve, a large bowl, and a clean kitchen or cheesecloth.
- The sieve should not touch the bottom of the bowl, there should be some space left in between the two. Place the towel or cheesecloth on the sieve and pour the yogurt in there.
- Gather the ends of the kitchen towel and cover the yogurt with them.
- Place the bowl with the sieve in the fridge and leave it there for at least 5-6 hours or ideally overnight. Discard the strained liquid once during this time, so that the accumulated whey from the bowl doesn't touch the yogurt in the sieve.
- Turn the strained yogurt into a clean bowl and add brown sugar and vanilla extract to taste. Stir well and leave for a while.
- The brown sugar that I use is quite rough and it takes a while for it to disintegrate into the yogurt. By waiting for a short while, you avoid adding too much sugar. Don't forget that the cherries are sweet as well, so don't exaggerate with the sugar.
You can also serve the strained yogurt with canned apricots or cherry sauce, with preserved blueberries or berries (fresh or frozen) mixed with a little sugar.
Baked cherries:
I weighed the cherries after I pitted them, so 1 kg/ 2.2 lbs prepared cherries. The amount you use doesn't have to be exact, some more or less cherries will be fine, just make sure that the roasting pan you are using is large enough to keep them all in a single layer.
- Pit and halve the cherries. Place them into a roasting tray.
- Add sugar and mix.
- Add the spices, if using, and let the cherries marinate for about 10 minutes.
- Add the freshly squeezed orange juice and the elderflower syrup, if using.
- Roast the cherries in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes. Stir well and roast for further 15 minutes.
How to serve?
The cherries can be served hot or cooled.
The roasted cherries will be more than what you need for serving with the yogurt. Keep the rest in the fridge and enjoy it with porridge or muesli in the morning.
You can serve the roasted cherries with some plain cake as well or stir them into unstrained yogurt, you can have them with semolina or rice pudding or with ice cream as well. There are lots and lots of possibilities.
Roasted Cherries
Ingredients
- Strained yogurt:
- 1 kg/ 2.2 lbs plain creamy yogurt Greek yogurt
- 2-3 tablespoons brown sugar to taste
- vanilla extract to taste
- Roasted cherries:
- 1 kg/ 2.2 lbs cherries pitted and halved
- 4 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 vanilla bean See note 1
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 star anise
- 3 green cardamom pods
- 150 ml/ 5 fl.oz/ ⅔ cup freshly squeezed orange juice 1-2 oranges
- 2 tablespoons elderflower syrup optional (See note 2)
Instructions
Strained yogurt:
- Start with the yogurt.
- Place a fine-meshed sieve on top of a bowl. The sieve should not touch the bottom of the bowl, there should be some space left in between the two.
- Place a very clean kitchen towel or cheesecloth on the sieve and pour the yogurt in there.
- Gather the ends of the kitchen towel and cover the yogurt with them.
- Place the bowl with the sieve in the fridge and leave it there for at
least 5-6 hours or ideally overnight. - Discard the strained liquid once during this time, so that the accumulated liquid doesn't touch the yogurt in the sieve.
- When ready to serve, turn the strained yogurt into a clean bowl and add brown sugar and vanilla extract to taste. Stir well and leave for a while, to give the sugar time to disintegrate into the yogurt. By waiting a bit you avoid adding too much sugar.
Roasted cherries:
- Preheat the oven to 200 degreesCelsius/ 390 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Place the halved cherries into a roasting tray, add the sugar and mix gently distributing the fruit evenly on the tray. Add the split vanilla bean, the cinnamon stick, star anise, and cardamom seeds. Let the fruit marinate for about 10 minutes.
- Squeeze the oranges and mix the juice with the elderflower syrup, if using. Pour over the cherries and mix well.
- Place the roasting tray in the oven and bake the cherries for about 15 minutes. Stir well, distribute the fruit evenly again and continue roasting for another 15 minutes.
- Serve hot on cooled on top of the strained yogurt.
Notes
- The spices are optional. If you choose not to use them, replace them with 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract.
- If you don't have any elderflower syrup, you can leave it out or replace it with some other syrup.
Coco in the Kitchen says
Those cherries look amazing.
I probably could eat the whole lot!
Adina says
I almost managed that. 🙂