Like most, I absolutely love summer! I love that it means holiday season is here and so is the most amazing fruit seasons. One in particular is cherries! My family and I, make a point of visiting the cherry farm every December to pick cherries and really just have a fun day out.
This year is a bit different of course, while visiting the farm won’t really be possible, Cherry Time has come to our cherry rescue and have opened up an online store – meaning fresh, juicy and affordable cherries delivered to your door!
To spark some inspiration of new dishes to create with your batch of cherries, I’ve teamed up with my friends at Cherry Time to bring your three divine cherry inspired recipes. The first is this Cherry-Infused Panna Cotta with Toastes Coconut and Cherry-Toffee Shards – I know right – yum!!
If you’re in Western Cape, be sure to order your stash of delicious cherries, by shopping at www.cherrytime.co.za
CHERRY-INFUSED PANNA COTTA WITH TOASTED COCONUT AND CHERRY-TOFFEE SHARDS
For the cherry-infused panna cotta:
- 1 cup pitted and halved Cherry Time cherries
- 3 cups cream
- 1 cup full-cream milk
- 3/4 cups caster sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla essence or the seeds from 1 vanilla pod
- 1 tbsp gelatine dissolved in 1/3 cup boiling water
For the topping:
- ¼ cup pitted and halved Cherry Time cherries
- cup desiccated coconut
- 200g caster sugar
To garnish: fresh Cherry Time cherries
Method:
- For the panna cotta, place all the ingredients except the gelatine and cherries in a medium saucepan and bring to the boil on medium heat.
Remove from heat, whisk in the dissolved gelatine and then 1 cup of cherries, gently pounding the cherries for 2-3 minutes, allowing the fruit to infuse into the milk. - Strain to remove cherry pieces and pour into individual dishes or moulds and allow to cool completely before placing in the fridge overnight to set.
- To make the topping, preheat the oven to 180°C. Spread the coconut on a baking tray and place in the oven for 5 minutes or until lightly toasted. Remove and allow to cool while preparing the toffee.
- For the toffee, place the sugar in a saucepan on medium heat and allow to melt, stirring to distribute the heat evenly. Once the sugar has dissolved and turned amber, remove from the heat and stir in the ¼ cup cherries.
- Quickly pour the cherry toffee onto a silicone mat and spread it out using an offset spatula.
- Sprinkle the coconut over the spread toffee and allow to cool completely. Once cool, break the toffee into shards by tapping with a sharp knife.
- When ready to serve, decorate the panna cotta with the toffee shards and fresh cherries.
Sadie's Bubble of Yum 