Rebecca Nielsen's Recipe

Dark Cherry Sauce

Category: Sweet Sauces

Serves/Makes: 1 cup
Difficulty: 2
Prep/Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

1 pint fresh dark cherries, pitted
2 T maple syrup
2 T cherry liqueur (recommend Cherry Pie Brand)
zest of one lemon
juice of 1/2 a lemon
pinch of salt
2 T corn starch
3 T water

Preparation:

Process pitted cherries in a food processor until smooth (there will still be some texture). In a small prep bowl mix the water and cornstarch.

In a heavy bottom sauce pan add pureed cherries, maple syrup, cherry liqueur, lemon zest and juice and salt. Over medium heat stirring constantly, blend ingredients for about 1 minute. Slowly add corn starch slurry still stirring.

Turn heat to low and whisk for an additional 4 minutes or until desired thickness. After I reach my desired thickness I use an immersion blender to make the sauce really smooth. You may wish to omit this step.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Cooks Notes - I made this when I saw my beautiful cherries starting to turn. This sauce can be used over ice cream as shown in my picture or drizzled over pound cake. I have also mixed it with softened Mascarpone cheese for a creamy sauce. Store in an airtight container in the fridge and it can be frozen.