Vegan Cherries Jubilee
Ingredients
- 1 lb cherries (any variety) if fresh, make sure the cherries are pitted. If frozen, defrost them and reserve 1/4 cup of the cherry juice.
- 1/2 cup sugar organic cane sugar
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1/4 cup cherry juice or water if using frozen, use the reserved cherry juice noted above
- 1/2 lemon juiced
- 3 tbsp to 1/4 cup dark rum* see safety note below
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- high quality vegan vanilla bean ice cream for serving
Instructions
- Add sugar, orange juice, cherry juice/water, and lemon juice over medium heat and simmer for ~10 min until bubbling and syrupy.
- Then, add the cherries, and let them simmer for ~8 minutes until the juices are released and the liquid reduces. It should be syrupy. If it’s too liquidy, keep simmering down until it’s syrupy. It should coat the back of a spoon.
- Safety instructions: a) if you use the full 1/4 cup of rum, the flames can be several feet high, so make sure there’s nothing in the way hanging above your pan (like an overhead cabinet or flammable/plastic microwave door). If you have any doubt, don't risk it!b) Keep a lid nearby if you need to smother the flame. c) Turn OFF the heat before igniting the flame. Alcohol vaporizes when hot, so the hotter the pan, the more out of control the flame can get. Heat off = safe. d) Never pour the alcohol directly from the bottle; the flame can jump up the bottle and ignite the whole bottle, causing a serious fire hazard. Pour the alcohol into a separate measuring cup.e) To avoid burning off anyone’s eyebrows, it’s ideal to stand back/tie back long hair and tilt the pan away from you while the flame is going. If you have ANY concerns about the flambe, there are multiple safe alternatives!* (see notes below).
- Have the rum ready and measured out. Turn OFF the heat. Turn OFF any exhaust/vent fans running above the stove (it can suck in the flame).
- Using a grill lighter or long fireplace match, add the rum and then ignite it. Gently shake the pan while the flame burns, until the flame extinguishes itself. Stir in the vanilla once the flame dies.
- Then, spoon the cherries and syrup over a scoop of vanilla ice cream and serve.
Notes
- *Safety note & alternative methods:
- If you want to try flambé but want a smaller/more controlled flame, simply reduce the amount of alcohol. Try 3 tbsp instead of 1/4 cup of rum. This will produce a much smaller flame. Also, double check that the heat is OFF and even remove the pan from the hot burner to help produce a smaller flame. (When alcohol is hot, it vaporizes more, which creates a more dramatic flame).
- If you aren’t comfortable with doing flambé at home at all, that’s OK!! Simply simmer the alcohol for several minutes until it’s cooked off and the mixture reduces/thickens slightly. No flame needed!
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