Recipes

Chocolate Cherry Cordials

April 1, 2016
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AdminDan

You will need 2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper or waxed paper for this recipe.

Ingredients

  • 60 maraschino cherries with stems
  • 3 tablespoons white chocolate ganache, softened
  • 3 tablespoons light corn syrup
  • 2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
  • 1 pound dipping chocolate, couverture or confectioners’ compound coating

Instructions

  1. Drain the cherries thoroughly, with their stems intact, on sheets of paper towels, 8 to 12 hours.
  2. In a small bowl, stir together the softened ganache and corn syrup.
  3. Stir in the sifted confectioners’ sugar and, using your hand, knead until smooth. If the mixture is too soft to handle, put in the refrigerator to chill.
  4. Shape about ½ teaspoon of the confectioners’ sugar mixture around each cherry. The stem will protrude from the coating. Put the coated cherries upright on a prepared baking sheet and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
  5. Melt the chocolate or confectioners’ compound coating according to the package directions. Holding cherries by their stems, dip them, one at a time, into the chocolate. Spoon  the chocolate over the cherries to coat completely. Be sure to seal the cherries with the coating to prevent cherry juice from leaking after the chocolate has set. Let any excess chocolate drip off the cherries.
  6. Place the dipped cherries, stems up, on the second baking sheet and refrigerate until chocolate is firm, about 3 hours.
  7. Transfer the cherries to a container with a tight lid. Refrigerate for about 4 weeks before serving. Taste one every day after 3 weeks, to determine when they are ready. You really don’t have to taste them every day, but it’s more fun that way! After a month, store any leftover cherries in a tightly lidded container in a cool, dry place.

Yield

This recipe will yield approximately 60 cordials in 2 hours, with a chilling time of 3-4 weeks.

Variations

Liqueur Cherries: Reserve 1 ¼ cups of drained cherry liquid. Bring the liquid to a boil in a medium-sized saucepan set over high heat. Remove the heat and stir in ½ cup of amaretto or crème de cacao. Add the cherries and stir gently to coat. Let the saucepan stand at room temperature for 12 hours at room temperature.

Drain the cherries, discard the liquid and follow the recipe instructions above.

Chef’s Note

For a nontraditional look, use white chocolate instead of bittersweet or semisweet chocolate.