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Cooking, Recipe and Food Blog

Almond and Cherry Nougat

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Almond and cherry nougats are yummy dessert bites that are easy to prepare. For this recipe, we used rice paper sheets which can be found in health-food stores or delis. Rosewater on the other hand can be bought in specialty stores. If you cannot find any, a tablespoon of rosewater essence will do.

 

Ingredients:

Vegetable oil for greasing

2 edible rice paper sheets

2 cups almond kernels

1 1/3 cups caster sugar

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup liquid glucose

2 tablespoons water

1 egg white

2 teaspoon rosewater

100g pack red glazed cherries, coarsely chopped

 

Preheat the oven at 180°C and then lightly grease a 15ocm square cake pan with oil. Line it with a sheet of rice paper. Spread the almonds over the baking tray. Bake it in the oven for 8-10 minutes or until it becomes toasted. Remove from the oven and let it cool completely.

Place the sugar, honey, glucose and water in a medium sized pan over low heat. Let it simmer for 5 minutes or until the sugar is dissolved. Stir occasionally. Increase the heat to high and bring it to a boil. Simmer for another 4-5 minutes or until a candy thermometer reaches 160°C. Brush down the side of the pan once in a while using a pastry brush dipped in water. Remove from heat.

Combine the egg whites and rosewater in a dry mixing bowl. Whisk it using an electric beater for 2-3 minutes or until stiff peaks form. While the mixer is running, gradually add the almonds and cherries.

Spoon the nougat mixture into the prepared pan lined with rice paper. Press the nougat firmly onto the base to make sure there are no air bubbles. Top it with the remaining rice paper sheet. Let it cool completely. Allow it to completely set, around 4 hours.

Put the nougat into a chopping board and cut it into sticks or 2 inch squares before serving. You can store it up to 1 week if it is kept in an airtight container in a cool dark place.

 

Photo Courtesy Of:  ohbernadine

Cherry Streudel

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Streudel is often associated with Austrian cuisine. It is a sweet, filled pastry often served with cream.

The recipe calls for the use of almond meal or ground almonds which can be found in the baking section of most supermarkets. You can also ground your own. Just make sure you use sweet almonds with no skin.

Kirsch on the other hand is a German fruit brandy, but you can use any kind of cherry brandy if that is what is available.

Be creative and adjust the taste according to what you want. You can even add more sugar to make the filling sweeter. Enjoy!

 

Ingredients:

1 800g bottle morello or maraschino cherries, drained

1/2 cup caster sugar

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons kirsch or cherry brandy

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Melted butter, to grease

10 sheets filo pastry

60g butter, melted

100g almond flour or ground almond

Pure icing sugar

Whipped cream for serving

 

Preheat the oven at 200C and slightly grease a baking tray with butter.

Place the cherries, lemon juice, kirsch, sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl. Mix well and allow the cherries to marinate for 2 hours. Drain and set aside.

Lay the filo pastry on a flat surface. After, cover it with a damp tea towel or cheese cloth. Get 1 sheet and brush it with melted butter. Place another filo sheet on top of it and repeat the process. Do this for the remaining ingredients.

Evenly sprinkle the ground almond on the pastry and place the cherry mixture on one end crosswise. Brush the edges of the pastry with butter and then roll it tightly to enclose the filling. After, fold both ends to enclose it. Put it on the greased baking dish and brush it with the remaining butter.

Bake the cherry streudel for 20-25 minutes or until it becomes golden brown. Remove from oven and let it stand for 3 minutes.  Slice it into 4 sections and transfer it to a serving plate or individual plates. Dust it with icing sugar and serve warm with whipped cream. You may top the streudels with cherry syrup if desired.

 

Photo Courtesy Of:  Public Domain Photos

Cherry Brulees

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Using Fresh Cherries will give a stronger, fresher flavour, however, it will mean that you’ll need stone them. Cherry Stoners are inexpensive, and saves a great deal of time whilst also damaging the Cherry very little – which will give a very good presentation as well.

Cherry Brulee

Try to use some of the brighter coloured Cherries for decoration.

To Serve 8
350g Fresh Cherries
1tbsp Kirsch
4 Egg Yolks
50g Caster Sugar
450ml Double Cream
125g Granulated Sugar

1. Stone the Cherries, reserving eight of them with stems for decoration. Pour the Kirsch over the rest of the Pitted Cherries.
2. Whisk the Egg Yolks with the Caster Sugar until they have thickened and are much lighter in colour. Pour the Cream in, stirring all the time. Place into a heavy-based saucepan, and cook over a low heat, stirring all the time to make sure it doesn’t boil. After around ten minutes, the Mixture should be similar in consistency to Double Cream.
3. Divide the Cherries amongst eight Ramekins or heatproof cups, then strain over the Custard mixture. Bake at 150C and cook for thirty to thirty five minutes, until very lightly set. Cool and refrigerate until firm.
4. Place the Granulated Sugar into a small, heavy based saucepan, and heat until the Sugar dissolves and turns a golden Caramel colour. Place a Pitted Cherry on top of each Ramekin, then pour over some of the dissolved Sugar, and chill for at least an hour, but no more than six hours.

Serve fresh from the refrigerator.

Photo Courtesy of: snowpea&bokchoi

Sour Cherry Smoothie

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This smoothie is quite a sharp flavour, with a creamy, smooth texture. The mix of the flavours and feelings makes this a sure-fire hit, and a great way to wake yourself up in the morning. You can also use it as in Ice Cream sauce if you add less yoghurt, and pour it over the top of Vanilla Ice cream for a lovely treat, even more so if you warm it up slightly first – just thirty seconds in a microwave is all that’s needed.

Cherry Smoothie

250g bottled, stoned Morello Cherries
150ml Greek Yoghurt
Sugar (to taste)

1. Put the Morello cherries, with their liquid into a blender with the yoghurt and process until smooth.
2. Add as much sugar if wanted – start by tasting as it is, then adding small amounts at a time. It’s easier to put more sugar in, than to add more Cherries!
3. Pour and Serve

Brandy your Cherries

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Brandied Cherries

Cherry Brandy was one of those things that sounded absolutely delicious to me as a child. I was determined to drink it when I grew up. Now that I’m all grown up, though, I’ve discovered something I like much better than Cherry Brandy- Brandied Cherries!

There’s just something about brandying my own fresh cherries that make me feel all fifties housewife with fire engine red lipstick and a pink apron. Here’s how to do it:

Homemade Brandied Cherries

Ingredients:
5 pounds fresh, dark cherries (the sweeter, the better!)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 cup good brandy

Method:
Wash and pit your cherries. To a large pan, add sugar, water and lemon juice. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer. Add the pitted cherries, and let simmer for around five minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in the brandy. Et voila! The most delicious Brandied Cherries ever.

What to do with these? My favorite way is atop a generous slice of chocolate cake. It’s also killer over a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or- if you really want to be wicked- with a scoop of Cherry Garcia and a good dousing of chocolate syrup.