From Cherry Pie To Cobbler, 8

Cherry Desserts

To Try This Monsoon Season

Why is it that certain ingredients become stars of the season? Well, in nine out of ten cases, it all comes down to freshness. Indian cherries, primarily sourced from the Himalayan belts like Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir, are harvested in June and July. Using them in warm desserts like a cherry pie lets you enjoy the freshest produce of the season. And don’t worry, the list even has a hot and cold option for those who just can’t let go of the icy goodness! 

If there is one dessert that has become synonymous with cherries, it is the cherry pie. The recipe is a staple of American baking and showcases the fruit at its best. To make it, combine cherries with sugar and a little cornflour to create the filling. Spoon the mixture into a pie crust, cover with a top crust or lattice, and bake until golden and bubbling. The result is a dessert that balances sweet and tart flavours with a crisp, buttery crust. Serve a slice after dessert, or as part of a brunch spread.

The cherry cobbler is one of the simplest desserts that you can make with fresh cherries. A cobbler is different from a cherry pie. Though both are baked, cobbler is more rustic. It usually features a bubbling fruit filling topped with a thick layer of biscuit dough, dumplings, or cake batter. In this case, a simple flour-butter batter covers a baking dish filled with a mix of pitted cherries, sugar and a little cornflour. Bake at 180°C until the topping is golden and the fruit is bubbling. Serve warm or with a side of plain vanilla ice cream.

No list of cherry desserts is complete without the classic Black Forest Cake. The famous combination of chocolate, whipped cream, and cherries can be adapted into a wide variety of formats, from classic oven-baked cakes to icebox cakes, trifles, and even brownies. For the classic version, layer a chocolate sponge cake with whipped cream and cherries. Repeat the layers, then decorate with more whipped cream, chocolate shavings, and cherries on top.

Bring a bit of that French delicacy into your home with this cherry dessert. Don’t be scared by the name! Clafoutis is a French dish that looks a little like a cherry pie, though without the lattice top or flaky crust. Rather, it’s like a baked custard with the batter poured on top of the cherry filling. To make this, arrange cherries in a buttered baking dish. Pour over a light batter made with eggs, milk, flour, sugar, and a pinch of cinnamon or nutmeg. Bake until puffed and lightly golden.

If you’re looking for something more suited for a single serving, then skip the cherry pie for the cherry-choco lava cake. Fill ramekins with chocolate lava cake batter and add a few chopped cherries to the centre. Bake until the edges are set, but the middle remains soft. Serve immediately for a molten chocolate-and-cherry centre. The cherries add a burst of tart sweetness that balances the intense chocolaty notes. Making this is a piece of cake, pun intended.

The way rainy showers are hitting cities these days, they are over as soon as they begin – certainly before any food or dessert can get delivered. For those days, whip up the cherry compote. Cook cherries with a little sugar and lemon juice over low heat until soft and syrupy. From washing and pitting the fruit to cooking and cooling down the compote, the entire thing takes just 25 to 30 minutes. Spoon the warm compote over vanilla ice cream and serve immediately. Don’t have a brick lying around in the freezer? Swirl the compote into yoghurt, or spoon it with biscuits or crackers. The latter works especially well when your favourite reruns are playing in the background, and rain is providing the background score. 

Some flavour combinations are timeless, and chocolate with cherries is certainly one of them. The cherry fudge cake takes that pairing and turns it into a rich, indulgent dessert, almost as decadent as the cherry pie. To make it, prepare a chocolate cake batter and fold in chopped cherries before baking. Once cooled, top the cake with a thick layer of chocolate fudge frosting and garnish with additional cherries if desired. The cherries add bursts of tartness throughout the cake, helping balance the richness of the chocolate and preventing the dessert from feeling overly sweet.

A compote has a limited, almost negligible shelf life. Desserts like cherry pie or cobbler are a little better, but barely so. Cookies, however, can last for almost a week if stored correctly. Which means, rains may come and go, but the sweetness of these cherry almond cookies is here to stay! Create the cookie dough by mixing butter, sugar, flour, chopped cherries, and almond flour. Scoop onto a baking tray and bake until lightly golden around the edges. To store them, allow the cookies to cool completely before transferring them to an airtight container and keeping them in a cool, dry place.

Cherry desserts are not new in the world of sweet treats, but the classics, like cherry pie and Black Forest Cake, often steal the spotlight. Treat this list as a gentle nudge to try more dishes, explore different cooking styles, and treat cherries like the stars they are. However, make a basic list of baking ingredients and stock up because the rainy seasons can make it tricky to step out at any time of the day. Though it does give all the right reasons to enjoy the smell of sweet, freshly baked treats.