Cherry season has come early this year. Celebrate with these ice cream sundaes

The Abridged version:

• Zoe Barrie’s latest “Cooking In Season” recipe is for sweet cherry sundaes, ice cream sundaes topped with an early-summer cherry compote.
• The compote runs tart to stand out against vanilla ice cream, but has enough sweetness to lean into the dessert.
• Use a cherry pitter, a metal straw or skewer to push the pit from the bottom of the cherry through the top — and be sure to wear an apron.

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This is Cooking In Season, a biweekly series from local recipe developer Zoe Barrie using seasonal produce available at Sacramento-area farmers markets. 

Last month’s week-long heat wave came bearing fruit — literally.

With a long stint of warm weather, cherry farmers across San Joaquin County kicked off their first harvest earlier than usual, resulting in the recent bounty of cherries available at Sacramento farmers’ markets.

While they are like candy on their own, cherries have proven quite versatile in treats like cakes, cobblers and clafoutis, as well as in savory applications, such as sauces over game or poultry.

However, for the sake of simplicity, this sweet application is intended to bring out the best of cherries — their tart, sweet and tender unique taste. And while a classic cherry jubilee might be what you have in mind, this dessert skips the alcohol and flambé, relying instead on almond extract, one of cherries’ long-standing flavor affinities.

Sweet cherry sundaes

Yield: 4 servings
Total Time: 30 minutes

Fresh seasonal fruit can transform a run-of-the-mill dessert, like a sundae, into something that feels a little more special (see also: my apple crisp sundae recipe from October). This cherry compote leans tart, but is balanced with just enough sweetness. Make it ahead and store it in the refrigerator, or serve it after it has slightly cooled.

I recommend Bing cherries or other sweet, dark red varieties here, for taste as much as color. Rainier and Chelan cherries are beautiful and hard to resist at the market, but you’ll end up with a pink compote rather than a rich red one that pops against the vanilla backdrop. If you don’t have a cherry pitter, use a metal straw or skewer to push the pit from the bottom of the cherry through the top — and wear an apron, as they might get messy.

Ingredients

2 teaspoons cornstarch

½ cup plus 2 teaspoons water, divided

12 ounces Bing or other sweet cherries, washed, pitted and halved

â…“ cup granulated sugar

â…› teaspoon kosher salt

Juice of ½ lemon (about 1½ tablespoons)

½ teaspoon almond extract

Vanilla bean ice cream, for serving

Instructions

Step 1

Prepare the cornstarch slurry: In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and 2 teaspoons of water until fully dissolved. Set aside.

Step 2

In a small saucepan, add the remaining ½ cup of water, cherries, sugar and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, over medium-low heat until the cherries are soft and tender and the water has reduced slightly, 12 minutes.

Step 3

Reduce the heat to low. While stirring, slowly add the cornstarch slurry. Cook until the sauce thickens into a syrup, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the lemon juice and almond extract, then stir to combine. Turn off the heat and let it cool for 15 minutes before serving; the syrup will continue to thicken as it cools.

Step 4

In a parfait glass or ice cream bowl, add 1 to 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream. Top with the cherry compote and serve immediately.

Zoe Barrie is the writer and recipe developer behind Cooking In Season, a biweekly column featuring recipes made from the Sacramento region’s seasonal produce. She runs the popular Substack page Restaurant Dropout and previously worked in Bay Area restaurants after graduating from culinary school.