Recipe: Easy Black Cherry Syllabub (2024)

A simple, but delicious black cherry syllabub made with the help of some “cheat” ingredients.

Although it was met with some derision, I think that Delia had it right with How to Cheat. Maybe she overdid some of her cheats, but for me there is a fine line between cheating and being savvy with ready made ingredients.

Last summer some food bloggers were criticised for writing about using ready made stock, and I agree that in an ideal world everyone would possess time, knowledge and get up and go to make their own. Ready made stock certainly has its place in my, and many other kitchens. Food poverty has many facets, as well as financial some people do not have the time, inclination or knowledge to cook, resulting in poor unbalanced uninspiring diets.

I made these syllabubs last night in about 5 minutes, using a leftover ready made meringue nest and jarred black cherries in kirsch. Generally I am not really a fan of shop meringue, it tends to be completely dried out, powdery and very sweet lacking the soft pillowy marshmallow centre you get from making your own. A soft centred home made meringue would not work so well here, but you could substitute a less than perfect batch of macarons! As ever presentation is key, and this pudding looks stunning layered into a glass.

They say you should not cook with a wine that you would not drink, and this is especially true here when there is no cooking involved. We hugely enjoyed a bottle of Famille Bougrier wine yesterday – a stunning muscadet, fresh, dry and very delicious. The last quarter glass was perfect to whisk into the syllabub, its crispness offsetting the sweetness nicely.

Famille Bougrier is available from Marks & Spencer, Majestic, The Wine Society and Laithwaites amongst others and is well worth trying.

Many thanks to both Opies and Famille Bougrier for samples used in this recipe.