In honor of Queen Elizabeth II, Cherries Jubilee with Chocolate Cherry Sauce is a dessert, made with dark cherries over vanilla ice cream.
When I was a little girl, and I had been very, very good, my mother would make my favorite dessert, Cherries Jubilee. Okay, so now you know how old I am because that was a popular dessert in the 1960s. Maybe that’s one of the reasons that dark chocolate-covered cherries are my favorite candy.
At some point, a can of dark cherries found its way into my pantry, and I decided to make them into Cherries Jubilee. But, I didn’t want the ordinary, I wanted mine to sing the praises of chocolate!
Considering the recent birth of the British royal baby, George, I wanted to make something “English”, even though the chef who created the dish was French.
The dessert was created by Auguste Escoffier, who prepared the dish for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations. Originally, the dish consisted of pitted cherries which were flambéed with Kirschwasser. Someone decided later to serve that over ice cream. Because the dessert was impressive it became very popular, and everyone was doing it. Of course, that set its death knell. Well, it’s back, probably because of the popularity of Mad Men, a television show set in the 1960s.
Update: I originally posted this recipe in July of 2013. The Good Plate has been around for a while, and now, celebrating Queen Elizabeth’s Jubilee in 2022. I wonder what the chef will make in 2022? Maybe it will be another version of the venerable Cherries Jubilee! Considering that Ireland is part of the British Commonwealth, perhaps celebrate the day with Bangers and Colcannon, followed by this lovely dessert.
Email Me the Recipe
Cherries Jubilee with Chocolate Cherry Sauce
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Ingredients
- 15 ¼ ounce Dark cherries, canned pitted, packed in syrup with juice
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
- 1 tablespoon sherry
- 2 cup Vanilla Ice cream
Instructions
- Mise en place
- 15 1/4 ounce Dark cherriesDrain the cherries, reserving the juice.
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butterIn a saucepan, melt the butter on low heat.
- 1/3 cup powdered sugarAdd the powdered sugar, and stir. Add cherry juice, and stir.
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoaAdd the cocoa and stir until all the lumps have disappeared.
- 1 tablespoon sherryAdd the sherry and let the sauce cook until it has thickened.
- 2 cup Vanilla Ice creamPut ice cream in nice dishes, and top with the cherries.
- Carefully spoon some of the sauce on each dessert.
- Refrigerate any remaining sauce.
I remember having something like this as a child. I loved it then and this is much better! Cheers!
I haven’t had this dessert in years. Thanks for posting.
I like it when old recipes are resurrected with new ingredients. This sounds delicious!