Cherry Dessert Sauce

This quick and easy cherry sauce is the perfect accompaniment to your dessert – everything from pound cake to waffles, pudding and ice cream!

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

5 from 1 vote

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%