A very cherry cream dessert recipe to make the most of sweet ripe seasonal cherries. This quick cherry pudding with amaretti biscuits (cookies) and whipped cream takes ten minutes to put together and has only five ingredients. Perfect for languorous midsummer evenings.
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I first made this very cherry cream pudding one midsummer eve. CT dubbed it a midsummer night’s cream and that’s how we now refer to it. It’s become a bit of a tradition for us to indulge on the summer solstice.
When Are Cherries in Season?
June is the beginning of the very short British cherry season. It generally starts in mid-June and goes through to mid-August. Cherries are a small stone fruit, rather than a berry and they’ve been growing in the UK for many hundreds of years.
Cherries come in various colours and sizes. The most common ones you can buy are large and sweet and vary in colour from bright red to almost black. They’re best eaten raw and are perfect for snacking on.
Morello cherries are also common. They’re smaller and bright red and also very tart, so are best used for cooking.
If you’re lucky enough to find wild cherries, they’re a foragers delight. They tend to be small and yellowish red and usually on the tart side. They’re great for jam.
Cherries are high in vitamin C and melatonin. With their deep red colour, they’re also particularly rich in anthocyanins 1 and 2.
Make the most of the cherry crop with this simple, but delicious very cherry cream dessert. I do have a few other cherry recipes, however, if you’re after something else.
Cherry Recipes
- Berry & rose kefir smoothie (fresh cherries)
- Black Forest gateau (fresh cherries)
- Cherry, walnut & chocolate cake (glacé cherries)
- Chocolate amaretto biscuit cake (glacé cherries)
- Chocolate cherry trifle (fresh cherries + cherry jam)
- Clafoutis with chocolate swirls (fresh cherries)
- Sour cherry brownies (dried sour cherries)
Very Cherry Cream Dessert
Much like my easy strawberries and cream dessert, this very cherry cream dessert is a cinch to make. The only thing that’s a bit fiddly is pitting the cherries. If you have a good cherry pitter, however, this bit becomes pretty easy too.
The key to this dessert are seasonal sweet ripe cherries. The sweeter the cherries, the less added sugar you need. In fact, I only add a little rose syrup to the cream to sweeten it slightly and give it flavour. Other than that it’s down to the cherries and amaretti.
Prepare the bowls not long before you’re ready for pudding. It’s nice to have the contrast of textures as well as flavours. Leave these cherry bowls too long and the amaretti will lose their crunch and go soggy.
You can, however, always prep the first two steps in advance. Then assemble the desserts just before you’re ready to serve them.
Very Cherry Cream Dessert: Step-By-Step
1. Whip The Cream
In a medium sized bowl whip the cream with rose syrup until you get soft peaks. Be careful not to over whip or it becomes slightly buttery. I usually use a hand whisk for this, but you can use an electric one for speed and ease.
If you don’t have any rose syrup to hand, you can use a drop of rose extract or half a teaspoon of rose water combined with a little icing sugar. Alternatively, try amaretto or kirsch instead.
Carefully stir in the yoghurt, until everything is just combined.
2. Pit The Cherries
See the section further down the post on whether you need a cherry pitter or not. However, you choose to do it, it’s important for this very cherry cream dessert to pit the cherries. It’s definitely not the sort of dessert where you want to spit the pits out.
Before you start though, reserve two of the cherries for the end. If they have stalks, so much the better.
Depending on the size of the cherries, halve or quarter them and divide between two bowls.
I like to serve this very cherry summer cream in glass dishes so I can see the different layers and appreciate the colour of the cherries. But choose whatever grabs your fancy.
3. Crush The Amaretti
Amaretti biscuits, or cookies, are an Italian version of macaroons. They’re made with apricot kernels rather than almonds though. They come in two forms: soft or crunchy. You need the crunchy version for this very cherry cream dessert.
Crush or crumble three quarters of the amaretti then scatter the crumbs over the cherries.
4. Spoon On The Cream
Divide the cream between the two bowls and spoon over the top of the cherries and amaretti.
5. Finishing Touches
Crush the remaining amaretti and scatter over the top. Crown with the whole cherries and decorate with rose petals if you like.
Rose Syrup
At this time of year, rose syrup really comes into its own. It marries exceedingly well with lots of fruit, but particularly berries. Not that cherries are berries, of course.
I make several batches a year and often drink it as a cordial. Just add it to still or sparkling water and serve with, or without ice and a sprig of mint.
It’s ever so easy to make. All you need is a fresh, unsprayed highly scented rose. Here’s my recipe for rose syrup if you want to give it a go.
Do You Need A Cherry Pitter?
Well, strictly speaking, no you don’t need a cherry pitter. You can use a metal straw or chopstick to poke out the cherry pits. But it’s an awkward and messy process. If you’re likely to make bakes, puddings and desserts with cherries in the future, I strongly recommend getting one.
Thank goodness for my OXO cherry pitter*. It has a guard to stop the juice squirting all over the place and it makes short work of pitting those cherries. I may only use it for a few short weeks a year, but it’s definitely worth a place in my kitchen utensil drawer.
You can use it for pitting olives too, but I have to confess I’ve never put it to this purpose. If I have olives that need pitting, I serve them whole and warn everyone that the olives have stones. You can read more about this gadget in my mini cherry pitter review.
Other Easy Summer Desserts You Might Like
- Apricot whisky honey cheesecake
- Blackcurrant fool with fresh mint and rose
- Easy strawberries & cream dessert
- Poached peaches & apricots in a spiced lemon thyme syrup
- Raspberry syllabub
- Roasted plum parfait with lemon curd
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Choclette x
Very Cherry Cream Dessert. PIN IT.
Very Cherry Cream Dessert
Very Cherry Dessert
Equipment
Ingredients
- 100 ml double cream (heavy cream)
- 1 tbsp rose syrup or kirsch or both
- 2 tbsp natural yoghurt
- 150 g fresh cherries
- 4-12 crunchy amaretti biscuits (cookies) depending on size
- rose petals to decorate optional
Instructions
- In a medium sized bowl, whip the double cream with the rose syrup (and kirsch if using) into soft peaks.100 ml double cream (heavy cream), 1 tbsp rose syrup
- Stir in the yoghurt.2 tbsp natural yoghurt
- Pit all but two of the cherries and halve them. Divide between two glass dishes or bowls. Keep the whole cherries for decoration, with their stalks intact if possible.150 g fresh cherries
- Crumble three quarters of the amaretti over the cherries.4-12 crunchy amaretti biscuits (cookies)
- Spoon the yoghurt cream over the top.
- Crumble the remaining amaretti over the yoghurt and crown with the whole cherries.
- Scatter some fresh rose petals over the bowls if you like.rose petals to decorate
- Eat straight away, so the amaretti remain crunchy.
Notes
Nutrition Estimate
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Nic | Nic's Adventures & Bakes says
Thanks for sharing, this looks like a quick and easy dessert 🙂
Choclette says
Quick and easy fruit desserts are just what I want to make in summer.
Eb Gargano | Easy Peasy Foodie says
YUM! Love a quick and easy pud – especially one with such fab flavours 😀
Choclette says
It’s a great pud for summer, especially if it’s hot and the thought of the oven is just too much.
Kat (The Baking Explorer) says
It looks so pretty and I love the flavour!!
Choclette says
Love it when the roses are out and I can make use of their petals.
Helen says
I love how easy these are and they look absolutely gorgeous with the rose petals on top. A perfect summer dessert!
Choclette says
Thank you Helen. I find I really want easy in the summer, not that that stopped me baking a rhubarb pie the other day.
Corina says
I rarely make anything with cherries but this sounds absolutely delicious and I love that it’s so easy to prepare too!
Choclette says
I’m all for super easy food in summer, especially when they taste really good too.
Jacqui Bellefontaine says
I love fresh cherries and this dessert would be a really treat
Choclette says
It’s such a simple combination, but quite effective.
Lesley says
What a glorious looking dessert. Loving your flavour combinations, particularly your addition of rose syrup with the cherries, very clever. I do love simple, layered desserts like this.
Choclette says
Growing up, my mother was into puddings in a big way. Steamed puddings, queen of puddings, crumbles and pies, you name it, we had it. But she never made these kind of quick desserts. Seems a shame as she never had much time to herself. I’m all for simple and delicious. Not that I ever say no to a pudding.
Karen Burns-Booth says
Yes please! I love cherry season and we have a couple of cherry trees in our garden, which look like they will fruit this year. What a lovely looking seasonal dessert 🙂 Thanks so much for linking up to Cook Blog Share week 25, Karen
Choclette says
Ooh cherry trees. How wonderful Karen. I hope you get to benefit as well as the birds.
angiesrecipes says
We have been eating lots of cherries last few days…this is a very lovely dessert.
angiesrecipes
Choclette says
Yay for the cherry season Angie. They are so delicious.
Marita says
Yum I am a big fan of cherries. This dessert sounds delicious. An with the rose water it has a bit of a middle eastern touch to it.
Choclette says
I make my own rose syrup, so add it to lots of fruity summer desserts. It works really well. But yes, it does give a Middle Eastern note too.
Sherry says
This sounds so delicious. I adore cherries especially the yellow-orange variety. Of course cherry season is months away here and very short!
Choclette says
Hang on in there Sherry, it will be there before you know it.
Mary says
What a scrummy bowl of goodness. Such a lovely fresh dessert to show off these wonderful fruits.
Cherries have a very short season made shorter by being very expensive to start with. Later on you can gorge without having to mortgage the house!!!
Can’t wait for Cherry season to come round. Thanks Choclette. :))
Choclette says
No, you absolutely do not want to mortgage the house for a bowl of cherries Mary. But you’re right, they are not the cheapest. The price doesn’t even seem to go down here.