a little summer…
For Monday’s cooking class, our menu was “breakfast”. The luscious ending to our meal was a cherry crumble. To me, cherries are the epitome of summer. As soon as I see them appearing in the market, my eyes and taste buds light up, especially for the Rainier cherries! Unfortunately, Rainiers are not yet in season or readily available here, so we used Bing cherries today. Either variety is wonderful and oh so very pretty in this summertime dessert.
Fresh Cherry Crumble
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt, divided
3 pounds fresh Rainier or Bing cherries, pitted
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons finely chopped toasted almonds
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
14 tablespoons (1 stick plus 6 tablespoons) cold butter, cut into small pieces
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Carefully pit the cherries with either a cherry pitter or by placing the cherries on a cutting board and lightly mashing the cherries with the flat side of a chef’s knife to loosen the pits from the flesh.
Combine cornstarch, lemon juice, 1/8 teaspoon of the salt, and cherries in a large bowl, tossing well to coat.
In another large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, almonds, cinnamon, and the remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt with a whisk. Cut butter into flour mixture with a pastry blender until mixture resembles a coarse meal.
Place a 9-inch cast-iron skillet in the oven and heat for 5 minutes. Carefully remove the pan from the oven and lightly coat with Pam.
Pour the cherry mixture into the pan. Sprinkle the crumble over the cherries in the pan. Place the skillet on a baking sheet and return it to the oven. Bake for 35 minutes or until filling is thick and bubbly and the crumble is browned.
Remove from oven; let stand 20 minutes. Serve warm.
Serves 10
2 comments
Just in time for Costco container of cherries I bought! I’m sure it will taste as delish as it looks in the photo.
I have to tell you that the breakfast pizza from ‘our’ class has become the Carter boys new favorite recipe. I was told it even rivaled my Cinnamon Caramel French Toast!! which I have to say is sinfully delectable. I still need to practice with the pizza dough shaping part. :} I’ve lost a couple eggs despite putting them away from the edge. The oven was not a pretty picture.
Question, do you by any chance have a recipe for a date bar? Loved the Jiffy mix version of years ago but it hasn’t been around forever. Something from scratch would be much better I’m sure.
The quote from Tram was sweet and you are one of my favorite chefs (for what it’s worth) but honestly, you need to cultivate your skills as a writer!!! I love reading you as much as I love trying the recipes. You have a knack. XO
Beautiful Sheila, you have made my day, my week, and certainly my month! What sweet comments – be sure to give your boys hugs for me and maybe you could share your Cinnamon Caramel French Toast with me – sounds amazing! I do have a recipe for Oatmeal Date Bars, although it’s been years since I made them. I’m going to email you the recipe and you can let me know what you think… if you like then, maybe I’ll get them posted here sometime soon. Have a wonderful summer, and thanks again! xoxo
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