May 17, 2012

Cherries Jubilee

Packed with red, sour cherries, this classic dessert sauce is typically flambéed tableside both for presentation and to ensure the sauce is piping hot when poured over vanilla ice cream.

Credit: Maxime Iattoni

SERVES 4–6

INGREDIENTS
1 lb. fresh or thawed, frozen sour cherries, pitted
½ cup sugar
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
½ vanilla bean, seeds scraped and reserved
¼ cup kirsch or brandy
Vanilla ice cream, for serving

INSTRUCTIONS:

Heat cherries, sugar, juice, and vanilla bean with seeds in a 12" skillet over medium-high heat, and cook, stirring, until sugar dissolves in the cherries' juices, about 4 minutes. Remove pan from heat and add kirsch; return to heat and ignite with a match. Using a spoon, baste cherries with liqueur and juices until flame dies out. Spoon immediately over vanilla ice cream in bowls.