Cherry Chocolate Granola, Cherry Simple Syrup and Cherry Liqueur
Lately this place has been like Grand Central Station for cherries, berries and cream, and I’m afraid it’s only going to get worse. Standing over the stove in summer is not one of my favorite things to do, and with all of those fleeting summer fruits coming into season anyway, it’s much more pleasant to turn on the oven, pop something in and head for another part of the house until the timer goes.
Of course, that hasn’t stopped me from getting some canning in, but I also (finally) received two of the most talked-about cookbooks of 2015 in the mail yesterday– The Violet Bakery Cookbook, by Claire Ptak and The New Sugar and Spice, by Samantha Seneviratne. I’m especially excited about the latter, because the desserts in this cookbook all ratchet up the spice while cutting back on the sugar, which is right up my alley.
A friend recently asked me if I’d be willing to do him some desserts for his tea shop, which is exciting, but I immediately started to look at my home cooking in a different way as a result. I make decent desserts for family and friends, but I still feel like both my palate and my technique are missing a lot of polish when it comes to imagining that people might pay real money for the things I make. I’ve never set foot in even a hobbyist cooking class, and the only cookbook I’ve ever laid hands on is my grandmother’s ancient Pastors Wives Cookbook (yes, that is a real thing; yes, my grandmother was a pastor’s wife). I don’t really want to take a class right now, because I’ve already been delaying lessons at a local pottery studio, but that doesn’t mean I can’t try to push myself a little harder the way I always have: at home. But I thought getting a few cookbooks might be a good place to start. This is going to sound funny coming from a food blogger, but I haven’t had the best luck with internet recipes. Cookbook recipes are guaranteed tried and tested. So I’m going back to the basics.
Speaking of basics, one of the staples in our home is granola. Unfortunately, granola is one of those things that hasn’t quite caught on in Korea yet. It’s around, but it’s always the same few varieties with astronomical price tags slapped on them. The ingredients to make granola at home aren’t much cheaper here, but at least I can add some variety to the flavors.
This week, I reserved one of the quarts of cherries I’ve been rolling through to make cherry chocolate granola with coconut, coconut oil, honey, almonds and sea salt.
When you dehydrate cherries (or when you do anything with cherries, really), you can end up with a cabinet full of rich byproducts. If the recipe calls for the cherries to be sweetened, a sifting of sugar over the top and a night in the fridge after they’ve been pitted results in a concentrated cherry simple syrup. Pits in a mason jar with brandy for a couple of weeks gives you cherry liqueur. The little white kernel inside the pits can be extracted and soaked in vodka to make almond extract.
The pits can also be combined with other stone fruits, hard liquor and various spices to make amaretto, which I’ll get around to later this summer, when more fruits begin to come into season.
There’s something comforting about using all of something, wringing it out for every last drop of goodness. It feels like gratefulness, like not taking things for granted. Fruit is the most finicky kind of crop. It’s so sweet and delicious, we are far from being the only creature to love it, which makes organic fruit a true wonder of a farmer’s dedication and tenacity. The same sweet juices that make it seem decadent and forbidden also cut its lifespan short. Its oftentimes tender skin renders much of it impossible to pick except with human hands. There’s a lot to be grateful for, when a fruit survives all odds to make it to your table. Using as much of it as I can feels like the least I can do.
Cherry Chocolate Granola, Cherry Simple Syrup and Cherry Liqueur
Ingredients
- 500 grams fresh cherries
Simple Syrup
- 4 tablespoons white sugar
Cherry Liqueur
- 1 cup brandy
- 1/3 cup white sugar
Granola
- 3 cups oats
- 2/3 cup sliced almonds
- 4 tablespoons dried coconut, chopped
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
- 3/4 cup honey
- 2/3 cup semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
- 1/2 tablespoon sea salt
Instructions
- Wash the cherries and slice them in half, removing the pits. Place the pits in a mason jar, add the brandy and sugar and stir well. Cap the jar and keep in a cool, dark place for about 2 weeks.
- Cover the pitted cherries with 4 tablespoons of white sugar and toss them until they are well coated. Cover the container and leave them in the fridge overnight. In the morning, pour off the simple syrup and store it in a jar in the fridge.
- Place the cherries in a single layer in your dehydrator or on a cookie sheet. If using a dehydrator, set it to 135 degrees F and allow the cherries to dry for about 20 hours, until they are hard and chewy. If using an oven, set the oven as low as it will go (usually about 200 degrees F) and dry the cherries for about 8 hours or until you are satisfied with the texture.
- Preaheat the oven to 275 degrees F (135 C). Roughly chop the dehydrated cherries and add them to a large bowl with the oats, sugar, cocoa powder, coconut and almonds and stir. Pour over the coconut oil and honey and stir until well combined. Spread the mixture flat on a cookie sheet and place it in the oven for 30 minutes. When time is up, sprinkle the chopped chocolate over the top and return the cookie sheet to the oven for another 10 minutes. Remove the granola from the oven, sprinkle the sea salt over the top and allow to cool completely before placing it in an airtight container for storage.
