Cherries Jubilee

dark cherries warmed in a glossy syrup and flamed dramatically at the table with kirsch, then spooned hot over cold vanilla ice cream, the theatrical cherry dessert created for Queen Victoria's jubilee

Origin: United Kingdom

From the journey of Cherry.

Cherries jubilee is a piece of culinary theatre, and a creation of the grand age of restaurant cooking. It is generally credited to Auguste Escoffier, the great French chef who reigned over the kitchens of the Savoy and the Carlton in London, and who is said to have devised it for one of the jubilee celebrations of Queen Victoria, most likely the Diamond Jubilee of 1897, which gave the dish its name. The preparation is simple but spectacular: dark cherries are warmed in a light syrup, kirsch (cherry brandy) is poured over and set alight, and the flaming cherries are spooned, still blazing, over scoops of cold vanilla ice cream, so that the hot, boozy, dark-red fruit melts into the cold cream. The contrast of temperatures, the drama of the flame at the tableside, and the marriage of cherry and vanilla made it one of the most fashionable desserts of the early twentieth century, a fixture of the gueridon trolley and the smart dining room, and it remains a showpiece of the cherry's brief, glamorous summer season.

Ingredients

The Cherries

500 g dark cherries, stoned (fresh or good bottled)

The Syrup

80 g sugar
120 ml water (or cherry syrup, if using bottled cherries)
1 strip orange or lemon peel
1 tsp cornflour, slaked in 1 tbsp water

To Flame

60 ml kirsch (cherry brandy)

To Serve

good vanilla ice cream, to serve

Method

Have the vanilla ice cream scooped into bowls and waiting in the freezer; the cherries must go over it the instant they are ready.
In a wide pan or flambé pan, dissolve the sugar in the water with the citrus peel, bring to a simmer, and add the cherries. Warm through for 3 to 4 minutes.
Stir in the slaked cornflour and simmer for a minute until the syrup is lightly glossy and thickened. Remove the citrus peel.
Warm the kirsch in a small pan or ladle, pour it over the cherries, and carefully set it alight with a long match, standing back. Let the flames die down, swirling the pan gently.
Spoon the hot, flamed cherries and their syrup over the cold ice cream and serve at once.

Notes

Kirsch is traditional; brandy or a cherry liqueur also work. If you would rather not flame the dish, simply simmer the kirsch into the syrup for a minute to cook off the alcohol. Good bottled morello or amarena cherries make an excellent out-of-season version; use their syrup in place of the water.

The Gastrographer

Name: Cherries Jubilee
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: United Kingdom
Ingredients: 500 g dark cherries, stoned (fresh or good bottled); 80 g sugar; 120 ml water (or cherry syrup, if using bottled cherries); 1 strip orange or lemon peel; 1 tsp cornflour, slaked in 1 tbsp water; 60 ml kirsch (cherry brandy); good vanilla ice cream, to serve

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control