Cherry Fritters—Fresh or Brandied

Select some large and fine fresh cherries, remove the pits and lay the fruit in a bowl to sprinkle over with sugar, pour on a few spoonfuls of kirsch and let macerate for one hour. Then drain and thread eight of them on a silver skewer or a straw; roll these in lady finger dust and dip in frying batter (No. 137); plunge them into hot frying fat and when the paste is fried and well colored drain off the fritters on a cloth, sponge them and dredge over with vanilla sugar, then dress them in a pyramid on a folded napkin. Serve at the same time a cherry sauce made with cherry puree and flavored with kirsch.

For Brandied Cherry Fritters.—Prepare as above, using brandied cherries; besprinkle with sugar when the pits have been removed and finish as above. For the sauce, crush four ounces of sour cherries, put this into a copper pan with a pint of red Bordeaux wine, four ounces of sugar, a small piece of cinnamon and the peel of one lemon; leave to cook for a few minutes, then strain the liquid through a sieve and return it to the pan; thicken with a little fecula diluted in a small quantity of cold water and strain this sauce once more through the sieve; now add to it a heavy handful of candied cherries washed in hot water and serve.