Cherries Jubilee became a popular dessert in 1950s America when tableside flambéing was the hallmark of fine dining. Home cooks soon adapted the recipe for their dinner parties to impress guest. Cherries Jubilee remains a classic, and can be a fun and delicious dessert for a holiday gathering, or other special occassion dinners.
CHERRIES JUBILEE #americanvintage
½ cup white sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
1/4 cup orange juice
1 pound Bing or other dark, sweet cherries, rinsed and pitted (or use frozen pitted cherries)
1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
3 cups vanilla bean ice cream
1/4 teaspoon cherry extract
1/4 cup brandy
Whisk sugar and cornstarch together in a wide fry pan. Stir in water and orange juice; bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking until thickened. Stir in cherries and orange zest; return to a boil, then reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes. While cherries are cooking, spoon ice cream into serving bowls.
Remove cherries from heat and stir in cherry extract. Pour brandy gently over the top of cherries and ignite with a long lighter. Gently shake the pan until blue flame has extinguished itself. Spoon cherries over ice cream.
**The flame may get quite high when flambéing, so pay attention to anything flammable above and around where you ignite the cherries.
#vintagerecipes #midcenturydesserts #dinnerpartydesserts #holidaydesserts #easter #passover