Cherry Cream

A tapioca fruit mould, thickened with quick-cooking tapioca and lightened with egg white, set in small forms and turned out cold. The whipped cream and fresh cherries are the finish, not part of the mixture.

• Get the tapioca right"prepared tapioca" most likely means the small quick-cooking granules sold as minute or instant tapioca, rather than the large pearls, which need soaking and long simmering. Two heaping teaspoons is on the light side for a pint of liquid; expect a soft, barely-set mould, and use closer to 2 tablespoons if you want it to stand up when unmoulded.
• Canned cherry juiceMost likely the syrup drained from a can of cherries, which would already be sweetened; but the recipe's "add sugar if needed" allows for a less sweet juice too. Bottled tart cherry juice works, though it is thinner and much less sweet, so taste before you decide about the sugar.
• Acid slows thickeningCherry juice is acidic, which can weaken a starch gel, so the full fifteen minutes at a bare simmer is warranted. Stir often; a sugary fruit syrup will catch on the bottom of the pan.
• The egg whiteThe white is folded into the hot mixture off the heat and never cooked again, so it will not reach a temperature that reliably kills salmonella. Use a pasteurized white if that matters in your household, or leave it out and accept a denser, clearer set.
• Buttered mouldsThe recipe specifies butter, though a fruit jelly is more usually turned out of moulds simply rinsed with cold water and left wet; either will release.
• Chilling"Ice-cold" means several hours in the refrigerator, three to four for small individual moulds. It will not unmould until fully cold and firm; dip the mould briefly in warm water and invert onto a chilled plate.
• YieldA pint of juice fills four small moulds or six after-dinner cups. Sweeten the whipped cream lightly, if at all, since the mould itself carries the sugar.