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!
- 1½ cups canned cherries plus ½ cup of the light syrup from the can, or fresh or frozen cherries plus ½ 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 ¼ cup water
- ½ teaspoon quality pure almond extract
- 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.
Cherries are my weakness, I could eat these with a spoon!