Cherry Sauce

Velvet Cherry Sauce perfect for ice cream, yogurt or cheesecake. It's not your mom's thin cherry sauce.

4 cups cherries, pitted and halved, divided (1 L)
½ cup sugar (125 mL)
1 lemon, freshly zested
1 lemon, freshly squeezed
¼ cup sherry or port (60 mL)
1/8 tsp. nutmeg, freshly grated (0.5 mL)
2 Tbsp. pure honey (30 mL)
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract (5 mL)
2 Tbsp. cornstarch (30 mL)
2 Tbsp. butter (30 mL)

Place 3 cups (750 mL) cherries, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice and cranberry cocktail in a large saucepan over medium-high heat and cook for 20-25 minutes, stirring until cherries release their juices. Remove from heat and scoop cherries into a strainer over the saucepan. Press cherries with the back of a spoon to release remaining juices into saucepan. Discard remaining cherries from strainer.

Stir in nutmeg, honey and vanilla. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch with ¼ cup (60 mL) of water. Slowly whisk into cherry sauce. Simmer for 1 minutes or until sauce just starts to thicken. Remove from heat and stir in butter until melted and sauce is silky. Pour sauce into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.

Mix remaining 1 cup (250 mL) raw cherries into cooled sauce. Store in a resealable container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Makes 5 cups (1.25 L).