Cherries jubilee

The array of summers fruits in season makes me so happy! I have been having a lot of fun experimenting with cherries. They cook so well. The only downside to cherries is the need for a cherry pitter. It can also be used for olives. I like kitchen gadgets so I don't mind having a utensil that I pull out for only a short time every summer. I have learned to put it to good use on olives too.

I've tried two variations of cherries jubilee, a sauce of cooked, sweetened cherries set alight with brandy and poured over ice cream. The recipe couldn't be simpler. For the variation, I substituted red wine for the water. It makes the sauce even richer and more elegant. I also used some vanilla sugar that I had on hand. Whenever I use vanilla beans, I save the pods and put in a glass jar with sugar. It imparts a delicate vanilla flavor to the sugar. Given how expensive vanilla beans are, I like to get the most out of them.

2lb sweet cherries, pitted ans stems removed
1 c. water or red wine for the variation
1/2 sugar or more according to your taste
1/4 c. brandy

Cook the cherries in the water over medium low heat for 20 minutes. Stir in the sugar. Allow to cool to warm. Put ice cream in the bowls. Pour brandy over cherries and set alight with a match or a grill lighter. Once the alcohol burns off, pour the sauce over the ice cream.

Cherry frangipane tart

I spent a lot of time cooking this weekend. After spending a small fortune on almond flour (finely ground almonds) for the opera cake, I decided that I could absolutely not let the remaining flour go to waste. Being rather expensive and very delicious, it deserved a wonderful recipe that would highlight the delicate almond flavor. I found almost what I was looking for in this cherry frangipane tart recipe.

Frangipane is an almond paste made of almond flour, sugar, and eggs. It is commonly used in pastries with apples and pears in France. Since cherries are in season, I thought I'd give it a whirl with fresh cherries. I flavored the frangipane with 1T brandy and 1T vanilla. It was GREAT, if I do say so myself!

The recipe happens to be in metric so it allowed me to use my new scale that I bought to use w/ my French cookbooks. The scale turned out to be a cheap piece of work so I have to get something more robust. The recipe turned out well and looked gorgeous. Fresh, sweet cherries and the frangipane complimented each other well.

I did not like the pastry in this recipe. The crust turned out way too tough, almost like concrete. I really think pastry needs a bit of lard or shortening...and a bit of vodka...to stay light and tender, so I will be using my favorite Cooks' Illustrated pie crust recipe next time. There really is no need to try other pie crust recipes!

I am going to experiment with finding a frangipane recipe in our imperial measurements. I am also looking for one where the texture is silky. I think that may mean using powdered sugar.