Cherries, chocolate combine for celebratory desserts

Though St. Valentine’s Day is over, it’s never too late to celebrate love — especially with chocolate and cherries! Today’s column offers each of them, alone and/or in combination for everyone’s personal sweet tooth! We’ll begin with a couple of fab breakfast /brunch ideas, then explore some more great options. Enjoy!

Orange-Cherry Scones

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup cane sugar

2 1/3 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 cup plus 2 Tbsps. chilled buttermilk

3/4 cup finely chopped fresh ripe or dried cherries

1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts

1 Tbsp. grated orange peel

Coarse sugar for sprinkling (optional)

Preheat oven to 425F. Line a large baking sheet with foil. Stir flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in large bowl to blend. Add butter and with fingertips, rub into dry mix until coarse meal forms. Add 1 cup of the buttermilk, cherries nuts and orange peel. Stir gently until enough dough comes together in large moist clumps. Gather into a ball, transfer to a lightly floured work surface. Gently knead three or four times to combine well. Do NOT over-knead! Divide into two pieces and flatten into two 3/4-inch thick rounds; with floured knife, cut each round into 8 wedges*. Transfer wedges to prepared baking sheet, brush w/remaining buttermilk and sprinkle lightly with coarse sugar. Bake until light golden brown about 12-15 minutes. Serve warm.

* I usually bake the rounds whole and cut after removing from the oven. This makes for more tender texture on the cut edges.

If you’re considering a special brunch anytime soon, this smashing recipe not only feeds a crowd, but puts a whole new meaning to “hotcake”!

Breakfast Cake Supreme

(Serves 12)

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. salt

1 3/4 cups cane sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter, room temperature

2 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup dried cherries OR fresh finely chopped fresh ripe cherries

1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 325F. Butter and flour a pretty 12-cup bundt pan, tapping out loose flour. Sift flour, baking powder, nutmeg and salt into medium bowl. Beat 1 cup of the sugar and melted butter in large bowl until well blended. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Set aside 1 tbsp. of the mixed dry ingredients; Mix remaining dry ingredients into the butter mixture alternately with buttermilk in three additions, blending well each time. Mix cherries with reserved Tbsp. dry ingredients in small bowl; fold into batter. Transfer batter to prepared pan (batter should come about halfway up the sides of pan). Smooth top. In a medium bowl, mix walnuts, cinnamon and remaining 3/4 cup sugar; sprinkle over batter.

Bake cake till tester in center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Turn off oven, open oven door slightly and let cake stand in over with door ajar 10 minutes. Turn cake out onto rack, cool completely, sprinkle with sifted powdered sugar if desired. Serve warm.

The Ghirardelli folks came up with this recipe around 1997. Peanut butter, cherries and chocolate chunks — to die for!

Chocolate-Cherry

Peanut-Butter Cookies

(about 2 dozen)

1 cup chunky peanut butter

1/2 cup plus 2 Tbs. packed dark brown sugar

1/2 cup cane sugar

6 Tbsps. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 Tbsps. pure maple syrup

1 large egg

2 tsps. vanilla extract

1 cup flour

1/4 cup old-fashioned oats

1 tsp. baking soda

3/4 cup chopped fresh sweet or dried cherries

9 ounces milk chocolate, cut in 1/2-inch pieces

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter 2 large baking sheets. With electric mixer, beat first 7 ingredients in large bowl until fluffy. Mix flour, oats and baking soda in small bowl; add to peanut butter mixture beating to blend. By hand, stir in cherries and chocolate chunks, incorporating well.

For each cookie, drop one slightly rounded tablespoon of dough onto prepared sheet and top with a second slightly rounded TB of dough, pressing lightly. Place sheet in freezer for 10 minutes, then place in preheated oven and bake till light golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer to racks to cool.

Here’s the perfect dessert for a potluck; (If you can smuggle it out of the house)!

Cherry Delight

(Serves about 15)

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup butter

1 8-oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened

2 cups whipping cream, whipped

3/4 cup granulated cane sugar

4 1/2 Tbs. cornstarch

3 cups water

2 cups cherries

Combine crumbs and butter mixing till crumbly. Reserve 1 cup for topping. Pat crumbs into 9x13-inch pan. Bake at 350F for 5 minutes; cool.

Beat cream cheese till fluffy; add whipped cream, folding in well. Spread mixture evenly over baked crust. Combine sugar, cornstarch and water in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until mixture is thick and clear. Remove from heat, stir in cherries. Spread mixture over cream cheese; sprinkle with reserved crumbs. Chill several hours before serving.

On now to our showcase party cake, a classy classic for the most special of occasions!

Chocolate-Cherry

Three-layer Cake

(Serves 12)

Filling and Frosting:

12 ounces Bittersweet or Semisweet (NOT unsweetened) Chocolate, chopped

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped

1 1/2 cups sour cream

Cake:

8 ounces pitted Bing cherries , halved, slightly dried (can do in show oven)

1/3 cup Kirsch or other cherry brandy

8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped

1/3 cup strong brewed coffee

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

Pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups granulated cane sugar

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk, room temperature

Powdered sugar (optional)

Small jar of maraschino cherries, drained

For Frosting:

Stir bittersweet and semisweet chocolates in top of double boiler of barely simmering water until melted. Add sour cream in 4 additions, stirring until smooth after each. Remove from over water. Let chocolate mixture stand at room temperature until cool and firm enough to spread, stirring occasionally about 2 hours.

For Cake:

Combine cherries and Kirsch in small bowl. Let stand 1 hour. stirring occasionally. Drain cherries pressing out excess brandy, reserving cherries and brandy separately.

Position oven rack in center and preheat to 350F. Butter three 9-inch cake pans with 1 1/4-inch-high sides. Line bottoms of pans with waxed paper. Butter paper. Dust with flour, tapping out excess. Stir chocolate and coffee in heavy small saucepan over low heat until melted and smooth; cool slightly. Whisk flour, baking soda and salt in medium bowl to combine. Transfer 2 Tbs. dry ingredients to small bowl and set aside. With electric mixer at medium speed beat the sugar and softened butter in large bowl till fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Add vanilla and 1 Tb. reserved Kirsch and beat till blended. Reduce speed to slow and beat in chocolate mixture. Add dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk beginning and ending with dry ingredients and beating after each addition until just blended. Add cherries to the reserved 2 Tbs. dry ingredients in small bowl and toss to coat. Mix cherries into batter with large spoon. Divide batter evenly between the 3 prepared pan and place in oven. Bake until tester in centers comes out dry about 25 minutes. Transfer pans to racks and cool 10 minutes. Cut around sides to loosen and turn out cakes onto racks to cool completely.

Place 1 layer upside down on platter; spread with generous 1/2 cup frosting. Top with second layer, repeat. Top with last layer bottom side up. Set aside 3/4 cup frosting for decoration and top cake and sides with remaining frosting. Our illustration shows suggested frosting décor with the remaining frosting which can be piped or spread as desired. Refrigerate cake until well chilled – at least 6 hours. At serving time, let cake stand at room temperature 1/2 hour; decorate as desired with the drained maraschino cherries. (Save the cherry juice in fridge to add to whipped cream for a luscious topping for anything from cookies to waffles to ice cream!

There’s a surprise ending to this recipe – and that’s the fact that you do not have to use the included glossy frosting/filling recipe. If you prefer a more milk-chocolaty or perhaps mocha - frosting/filling you can use your own favorite recipe. The cake itself, rich with bittersweet chocolate, cherries, kirsch and coffee, can take a more mellow frosting and filling if that’s your preference.

Our final “recipe” is really a festive suggestion: If baking is not your thing but you’re not averse to a good champagne toast, simply pour a flute of bubbly and add a stemmed Maraschino cherry - perhaps with a few drops of the liquid as well. Cheers!

Valle Novak writes the Country Chef and Weekend Gardener columns for the Daily Bee. She can be reached at bcdailybee@bonnercountydailybee.com. or by phone at 208-265-4688 between the hours of 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.