Cherry Compote
A homemade cherry compote to top off a cheesecake, vanilla ice cream or a slice of rich, chocolate cake. This recipe uses frozen sweet, dark cherries which are available anytime but you can use fresh cherries if they are in seaon.
Servings: 2 cups
Ingredients
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch or 2 tablespoons instant Clear-Jel
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 16 ounces frozen dark cherries thawed
- ½ cup water
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 tablespoons butter
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, instant Clear-Jel (or cornstarch) and salt.
- Add the cherries and their juices to a saucepan, sprinkle with the sugar mixture and toss to coat the cherries.
- Add the water and the lemon juice.
- Set the saucepan over medium heat, stirring continuously until it begins to thicken, 1-2 minutes.
- Bring the mixture to a simmer and continue to cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has become thick and glossy.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the almond extract and the butter.
- Transfer the cherry sauce to a bowl or jar and allow to cool, then cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
Notes
- If the sauce becomes thicker than you like, stir in a tablespoon or two of water.
- If you plan to freeze the cherry sauce, we recommend using ClearJel rather than cornstarch. If you use cornstarch the sauce will break down when you thaw it, creating a runny sauce. ClearJel will not break down in the freezing and thawing process.
- This cherry sauce will keep in the refrigerator for one week.
- To freeze, transfer the sauce to an airtight container and freeze for up to two months.
- Uses for cherry sauce: Excellent as a cheesecake topping, a slice of fudgy chocolate cake or spooned over vanilla ice cream.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 | Calories: 89kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 8mg | Sodium: 41mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 13g
