Cherry Dessert Sauce

Here is a quick, easy and delicious cherry dessert sauce for pouring over everything from pound cake to waffles, shortcake, pudding and ice cream!

If you’re into canning, this sauce is a great way to put the fruits of your labor to use (see my post on how to can cherries).  I can cherries every season and on a whim decided to make a dessert that needed a cherry sauce.  No need to make a run to the store, I just went into my pantry and grabbed a jar of beautiful bing cherries I canned during the Summer.

You can use also use fresh or frozen cherries for this recipe.  Canned cherries are nice option because you can use the cherry-saturated juices in the can as part of the sauce.

This cherry sauce adds some fresh lemon juice to provide some contrast with the sweet as well as a touch of almond extract that adds a wonderful depth of flavor.  This sauce can be made well in advance but is quick enough that it requires no advance planning.

With a great flavor and silky texture, this Cherry Sauce will bring your desserts to life!

Let’s get started!

As I mentioned above, I’m using canned cherries that I prepared this past Summer because the cherry-infused syrup is perfect to use in place of water.  However, you can absolutely use fresh or frozen cherries.

Place the cherries and 1/2 cup of their syrup from the can in a small saucepan, or water if using fresh or frozen cherries, along with the sugar, lemon juice and butter.  Bring to a boil.  If using fresh or frozen cherries, reduce the heat and simmer for about 3 minutes.

Combine the cornstarch with the water and stir it into the sauce, stirring constantly until thickened, about 1 minutes.

Remove from heat and let cool.

Store the cherry sauce in the fridge for up to a week.

Serve the sauce warm or at room temperature.

A dessert that features this cherry dessert sauce is Risalamonde, Denmark’s most popular dessert!

Print Recipe

Cherry Sauce

This delicious cherry sauce is the perfect accompaniment for your cheesecake, rice pudding, ice cream and more!

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Total Time15 mins

Course: condiment, Dessert

Cuisine: dessert

Calories: 71kcal

Author: Kimberly Killebrew

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups canned cherries plus 1/2 cup of the light syrup from the can or fresh or frozen cherries plus 1/2 cup water
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon butter vegans: use an oil-based spread
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon quality pure almond extract

Instructions

• Place the cherries and the syrup or water in a small saucepan along with the sugar, butter and lemon juice. Bring to a boil. If using fresh or frozen cherries, reduce the heat and simmer for another 3 minutes. Stir in the cornstarch mixture, stirring continually until the sauce is thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in the almond extract.
• Store in the fridge for up to a week.
• Serve warm or at room temperature.

Serving: 0.25cup | Calories: 71kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 4mg | Sodium: 16mg | Potassium: 45mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 8% | Vitamin C: 2% | Calcium: 1% | Iron: 4%