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Making Chocolate Covered Cherries With Dry Fondant
by Lesley Barker
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A Three-Step Process
Making chocolate covered cherries with a dry fondant is a three-step process: making the fondant, preparing the fruit, and dipping the fruit into chocolate. It takes a whole afternoon to make a batch because of all the steps involved, but the results are impressive and delicious. They make great holiday gifts when the cherries in the center are candied. If, however, maraschino cherries are used, they must be absolutely drained first and will need to be eaten within a few days. Their stems, though, can be left on so that they stick out of the chocolate, which makes them look especially festive on a serving dish.
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The Fondant
Fondant is easy to make when you can give full attention to it. Mix one-third cup of unsalted butter, one-half cup of light corn syrup and one-half pound of powdered sugar in a heavy saucepan. Stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, bring the mixture to a low heat so that all of the ingredients combine together into a syrup. Add another half pound of powdered sugar and continue stirring until this has been fully incorporated into the syrup. It will be very thick. Remove it from the heat, but continue stirring until the mixture gets as thick as a smooth porridge. It will feel quite stiff. Add a teaspoon of real vanilla. Then turn the fondant out onto a marble surface and knead it until it becomes like creamy modeling clay.
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Preparing the Fruit
Before wrapping the cherries with this fondant, they must be absolutely free of moisture. Pull off about an inch of fondant from the main lump and mold it to fit around the cherry. Set the fondant-covered cherry on a nonstick cooling rack until the dipping chocolate is ready.
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Dipping Them In Chocolate
The chocolate coating is a mixture of almond bark and unsweetened baker's chocolate. Grate equal amounts (about one pound each) of almond bark and chocolate. Heat water in the bottom of a double boiler but do not allow it to boil. Then place the grated almond bark in the top of the double boiler, being very careful not to let any water get into this pot. Melt it over very low heat, stirring. Then cool the melted almond bark to 140 degrees Fahrenheit, using a candy thermometer to measure. Stir the almond bark until it cools to 110 degrees. Then add the grated chocolate and stir until it is melted. Now the chocolate is ready to use to cover the cherries. Using two fingers, dip each fondant-wrapped cherry into the chocolate. Twist it over when it is submerged in the chocolate. Bring it out of the chocolate and place it on a wax paper lined tray to cool. If the chocolate becomes too cool to dip the cherries, you can slowly warm it, stirring constantly, in the top of the double boiler until it returns to around 110 degrees.
