Once upon a cherry tale

Tantalising twists on delectable desserts

Chocolat e Dipped Cherries

◆ Firm, unblemished cherries with stems on ◆ White chocolate

◆ Finely chopped pistachios

◆ Good-quality dark chocolate

◆ Dutch cocoa

1 Melt each chocolate separately in a heat-proof bowl over a pot of simmering water.

2 Dip half the cherries (one at a time, holding each by the stem) in the white chocolate, only coating half of each cherry. Allow the excess to drip off. Dip them in the pistachios while the chocolate is still soft. Place on baking paper and leave to set.

3 Dip the remaining cherries in the dark chocolate, only coating half of each cherry. When the chocolate has set and hardened dip the cherries in the cocoa. Store in a cool place ( but do not refrigerate).

Frosted Cherries

◆ Firm, unblemished cherries with stems on ◆ 1 egg white

◆ 2 teaspoons water

◆ 1 cup caster sugar

1 Put the egg white and water in a bowl and gently stir together with a fork. Skim off any bubbles from the surface.

2 Put the caster sugar in another bowl. Holding each cherry by the stalk, dip first in the egg white, allowing the excess to drip back into the bowl then sprinkle over the sugar, shaking off the excess. Place on a cake cooling rack until dry.

Tip The cherry season in New Zealand is very short – from late November to February. If your wedding is outside those dates, you can get stemmed cherries in jars from many specialty food stores.