Christmas day and a cherry mess
Christmas Eve was a turkey affair with family from my mother's side. On Christmas day, we met again to watch American Hustle. The characters were pretty over the top and it was a very fun movie. In the past we would usually have hot pot together for dinner, but since my father's mother moved back to Toronto, we've needed to carve out time for her as well (she doesn't want to join things with my mom's side) and this year we did hot pot Christmas Day dinner with her, instead of my maternal relatives. For dessert, I made cherry mess. I first had Eton Mess (which is fresh mixed berries and broken pieces of baked-dry meringue folded into whipped cream) when we vacationed in Scotland. I liked it a lot and immediately scribbled down a note for myself about it.
Not long ago, I spotted frozen cherries at my grocery store. It was not something I'd ever seen available before, so I immediately grabbed the last bag, even though I had no particular plans for it, though I had in mind that I could make black forest cake with it (which I have previously made by rinsing off the goo from canned cherry pie filling. Tasty, but weird in principal.)
Anyway, hot pot tends to be a heavy meal because people usually over-eat when they're lazily cooking their own food bite by bite at the table, so a lighter dessert was called for. When I read David Lebovitz's blog post, I figured it was just the thing. Everyone thought it was fantastic but my grandma, who said she liked it, and that it wasn't too sweet, but it turns out she was only eating the whipped cream and meringue at that point. When she hit the cherries, she said it was too sweet. It's kind of hard to hit the right flavours with her; previous fruity desserts have been deemed too sour. Oh well, this dessert is a definite keeper, just I'll save it for dinner with different company, especially since it seems that frozen cherries will be a regular item at the grocery store.
Cherry Mess
adapted from David Lebovitz
serves 6
Components: cherry compote, candied almonds, almond meringues, whipped cream
Cherry Compote
600 g bag frozen pitted sweet cherries (or a scant 1.5 lbs fresh pitted cherries)
75 g / 3/8 cup granulated sugar
a few drops of almond extract
a little bit of wine or water
Choose a sauce pan generously large enough for the cherries and some bubbling. Pour in a little wine or water, about a tablespoon, just enough to wet the bottom and add the cherries sugar and extract. Heat over medium heat, stirring frequently, until cherries are softened and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Watch carefully during cooking, adjusting the heat if necessary to avoid bubbling over. When cooked, remove from heat and set aside or refrigerate.
Candied almonds
80 g / 1 cup (80g) sliced almonds (blanched or unblanched)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon water
pinch of salt
Preheat oven to 325F. Line a baking sheet with parchement. Heat water and sugar in a saucepan until boiling. Remove from heat and add almonds and salt, stirring to coat. Spread out as evenly as possible on lined pan and toast in the oven 10 to 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Remove to cool on a rack when golden-brown and crisp. Once fully cooled, store in an airtight container.
Meringues
2 large egg whites (room temp, if you can)
Pinch of salt
100 g / 0.5 cup sugar
a few drops almond extract
Reduce oven to 225F. Reline the now cool baking sheet with a fresh piece of parchement.
Whip egg whites with the pinch of salt in a clean dry bowl until it begins to hold its shape. Continue whipping while adding sugar by the tablespoon-ful until all sugar is incorporated and the egg whites hold stiff shiny peaks. Add the extract and whip some more, checking for stiff peaks again before finishing.
Divide into 6 roughly equal mounds on the lined baking sheet and flatten to about 3/4" thick with the back of a spoon or spatula. David claims that if you wet the utensil and shake off the excess water that it won't stick to the meringue, but I didn't find this to be true.
Bake the meringue for 90 minutes, before turning the oven off. Leave the meringues in the oven with the door shut until cool to allow them to continue drying.
Whipped cream and assembly
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon amaretto or a few drops almond extract
Just before serving, whip cream and sugar in a cold bowl until firm peaks and then whip in liquor or extract. Take 3 or 4 meringues and break into 3/4" (2cm) chunks (discard bits if not fully dry, and use a 5th meringue if necessary.) Fold enough pieces into the whipped cream so that it is well studded, more than half of the volume.
Layer ingredients in 6 wine glasses or other appropriately sized glass cups. For taller glasses, you may do more than one iteration, but for shallower cups, just one, so divide components accordingly. For each iteration, start with some cherries and a little of their juices, followed by the whipped cream mixture and a light drizzle of juices. Top with candied almonds. Repeat if desired.
Not long ago, I spotted frozen cherries at my grocery store. It was not something I'd ever seen available before, so I immediately grabbed the last bag, even though I had no particular plans for it, though I had in mind that I could make black forest cake with it (which I have previously made by rinsing off the goo from canned cherry pie filling. Tasty, but weird in principal.)
Anyway, hot pot tends to be a heavy meal because people usually over-eat when they're lazily cooking their own food bite by bite at the table, so a lighter dessert was called for. When I read David Lebovitz's blog post, I figured it was just the thing. Everyone thought it was fantastic but my grandma, who said she liked it, and that it wasn't too sweet, but it turns out she was only eating the whipped cream and meringue at that point. When she hit the cherries, she said it was too sweet. It's kind of hard to hit the right flavours with her; previous fruity desserts have been deemed too sour. Oh well, this dessert is a definite keeper, just I'll save it for dinner with different company, especially since it seems that frozen cherries will be a regular item at the grocery store.
Cherry Mess
adapted from David Lebovitz
serves 6
Components: cherry compote, candied almonds, almond meringues, whipped cream
Cherry Compote
600 g bag frozen pitted sweet cherries (or a scant 1.5 lbs fresh pitted cherries)
75 g / 3/8 cup granulated sugar
a few drops of almond extract
a little bit of wine or water
Choose a sauce pan generously large enough for the cherries and some bubbling. Pour in a little wine or water, about a tablespoon, just enough to wet the bottom and add the cherries sugar and extract. Heat over medium heat, stirring frequently, until cherries are softened and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Watch carefully during cooking, adjusting the heat if necessary to avoid bubbling over. When cooked, remove from heat and set aside or refrigerate.
Candied almonds
80 g / 1 cup (80g) sliced almonds (blanched or unblanched)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon water
pinch of salt
Preheat oven to 325F. Line a baking sheet with parchement. Heat water and sugar in a saucepan until boiling. Remove from heat and add almonds and salt, stirring to coat. Spread out as evenly as possible on lined pan and toast in the oven 10 to 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Remove to cool on a rack when golden-brown and crisp. Once fully cooled, store in an airtight container.
Meringues
2 large egg whites (room temp, if you can)
Pinch of salt
100 g / 0.5 cup sugar
a few drops almond extract
Reduce oven to 225F. Reline the now cool baking sheet with a fresh piece of parchement.
Whip egg whites with the pinch of salt in a clean dry bowl until it begins to hold its shape. Continue whipping while adding sugar by the tablespoon-ful until all sugar is incorporated and the egg whites hold stiff shiny peaks. Add the extract and whip some more, checking for stiff peaks again before finishing.
Divide into 6 roughly equal mounds on the lined baking sheet and flatten to about 3/4" thick with the back of a spoon or spatula. David claims that if you wet the utensil and shake off the excess water that it won't stick to the meringue, but I didn't find this to be true.
Bake the meringue for 90 minutes, before turning the oven off. Leave the meringues in the oven with the door shut until cool to allow them to continue drying.
Whipped cream and assembly
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon amaretto or a few drops almond extract
Just before serving, whip cream and sugar in a cold bowl until firm peaks and then whip in liquor or extract. Take 3 or 4 meringues and break into 3/4" (2cm) chunks (discard bits if not fully dry, and use a 5th meringue if necessary.) Fold enough pieces into the whipped cream so that it is well studded, more than half of the volume.
Layer ingredients in 6 wine glasses or other appropriately sized glass cups. For taller glasses, you may do more than one iteration, but for shallower cups, just one, so divide components accordingly. For each iteration, start with some cherries and a little of their juices, followed by the whipped cream mixture and a light drizzle of juices. Top with candied almonds. Repeat if desired.