Sour Cherry And Almond Spoon Sweet Food

SOUR CHERRY-ALMOND PIE

Steps:

• Make the crust: Pulse the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor to combine. Add the shortening and pulse until the mixture looks like cornmeal. Add the butter and pulse until it is in pea-size pieces. Add the vodka and 2 tablespoons ice water; pulse until the dough just comes together but is still crumbly. Turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap; shape into a disk and wrap. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight.
• Make the filling: Put the cherries in a medium bowl. Whisk 1/4 cup cherry juice with the cornstarch in a small bowl. Transfer to a small saucepan and add the remaining 1 1/4 cups cherry juice and the sugar. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, whisking constantly, until thick and glossy, about 30 seconds. Pour over the cherries. Add the almond extract and gently fold to combine.
• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven with a baking sheet on the lower rack; preheat to 425 degrees F. Roll out the dough into a 12-inch round on a lightly floured surface. Ease the dough into a 9-inch pie plate. Fold the overhanging dough under itself and crimp with your fingers or a fork. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Add the filling to the chilled crust. Transfer the pie to the hot baking sheet and bake 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees F and continue baking until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbling, about 55 more minutes. (Tent the crust with foil if it browns too quickly.) Transfer to a rack.
• Meanwhile, make the topping: Combine the almonds, sugar and egg white in a medium bowl; stir to coat. Spread on a parchment-lined baking sheet in a single layer. Bake on the upper oven rack, stirring halfway through, until dry and lightly golden, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely, then break into clusters. Sprinkle around the edge of the warm pie. Let cool completely.

SOUR CHERRY AND ALMOND SPOON SWEET

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 500°F.
• Sterilize your 1 pint jar by putting it in the oven for at least 30 minutes. Carefully remove with tongs, and be careful not to touch the jar.
• Combine all the ingredients in a large pot. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat, stirring gently but continuously. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring often, for 8 - 10 minutes until the cherries are slightly wilted.
• With a slotted spoon, remove the cherries and almonds to a sieve over a bowl, but leave behind the cinnamon and star anise. Raise the heat to medium and reduce the liquid for 5 minutes. Pour in the cherry juices that have accumulated in the bowl, and reduce for another 5 minutes or until well-thickened.
• Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Remove the spices and discard. Stir in the cherries and almonds and spoon into a sterilized jar or jars.

SOUR CHERRY AND LEMON ICE-BOX CAKE

Steps:

• Lightly grease the baking tin and line the base with parchment paper. If you want to remove the cake from the tin to serve, you can line the tin with a piece of parchment paper that overhangs the two long sides.
• For the cherry compote, place the cherries, kirsch, sugar and lemon juice into a large saucepan and cook over a medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, until the fruit softens and releases a lot of juice. Use a slotted spoon to remove the cherries to a heatproof bowl, leaving the syrup in the pan. Continue cooking the syrup until it is reduced to about 240 ml (8½ fl oz / 1 cup).
• Place the cornflour in a small bowl and whisk in a little of the cherry syrup to form a smooth paste. Add this to the cherry syrup in the pan and simmer, stirring, for a couple of minutes, or until slightly thickened. Pour the syrup over the fruit, cool slightly, then cover with clingfilm and refrigerate until cool.
• For the filling, whisk together the mascarpone, icing sugar, 600 ml (20 fl oz / 2½ cups) of the cream and the vanilla in a bowl until the mixture just starts to hold its shape. Add the lemon curd and continue whisking until the mixture holds soft peaks.
• To assemble the dessert, spread a thin layer of the lemon cream over the base of the prepared tin, then cover with a layer of biscuits, breaking them up as needed. Spread over half of the remaining lemon cream and then dollop over about a third of the cherry compote. Repeat the layering a second time and then finish with a final layer of biscuits.
• Cover the tin with clingfilm and refrigerate or freeze for at least 4 hours before serving.
• Just before serving, whip the remaining cream to soft peaks and spread over the dessert. Cut into slices and serve each portion with a spoonful of the remaining compote.
• Store in a sealed container in the freezer for up to 2 weeks; if refrigerated, it will keep for 3-4 days.

CHERRY-ALMOND TRIFLE

Steps:

• Beat pudding mixes and milk in large bowl with whisk 2 min. Stir in 1 cup COOL WHIP and sour cream.
• Cover bottom of 2-1/2-qt. bowl with cookies; top with pudding mixture. Mix cherry pie filling and extract; spoon over pudding mixture. Cover with remaining COOL WHIP.
• Refrigerate 1 hour. Sprinkle with nuts just before serving.

VEGAN CHERRY & ALMOND BROWNIES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 170C/150C fan/gas 31⁄2. Grease and line a 20cm square tin with baking parchment. Combine the flaxseed with 6 tbsp water and set aside for at least 5 mins.
• In a saucepan, melt the chocolate, coffee and margarine with 60ml water on a low heat. Allow to cool slightly.
• Put the flour, almonds, cocoa, baking powder and 1⁄4 tsp salt in a bowl and stir to remove any lumps. Using a hand whisk, mix the sugar into the melted chocolate mixture, and beat well until smooth and glossy, ensuring all the sugar is well dissolved. Stir in the flaxseed mixture and vanilla extract, the cherries and then the flour mixture. It will now be very thick. Stir until combined and spoon into the prepared tin. Bake for 35-45 mins until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean with moist crumbs. Allow to cool in the tin completely, then cut into squares. Store in an airtight container and eat within 3 days.