Cherries are my favourite fruit, so this dish ranks pretty highly when it comes to my favourite desserts! Making the most of what’s in season in the summer has been a big focus for me this year, as it’s an easy way to eat more sustainably and save a few pennies too. This dish is inspired by a recipe I discovered in one of my favourite cookbooks, The Whole Vegetable, and it’s the conclusion to my summer dinner party menu, although it’s great as a standalone dessert too. Think summer stone fruits, with a Middle Eastern twist!
Roasted Cherries & Tahini Biscuits Recipe
Serves 6 – 60 minutes – 1 of your 5 a day – Vegan
Ingredients for Roasted Cherries:
Ingredients for Tahini Biscuits:
- 600g cherries*
- 1 tbsp sumac*
- 2 tbsp maple syrup*
- 1/2 lemon*
- Salt
- 125g ground almonds*
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon*
- 1/2 tsp ground cardamom*
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg*
- 1/4 tsp ground turmeric*
- 60ml maple syrup*
- 120g tahini*
- 2 tsp vanilla extract*
- 1/2 lemon
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
- (Optional) Vanilla ice cream*
Method:
- Start by washing, halving and pitting your cherries. Zest and juice the lemon, and divide into two.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C. In a bowl, mix your cherries, sumac, maple syrup, half of the lemon juice and zest, and a pinch of salt. Transfer onto a baking tray and put into the oven on the middle or bottom shelf for 15-20 minutes. Once cooked and juicy, remove from the oven and place on the side to cool.
- In the meantime, prepare the biscuits. In a mixing bowl, mix your ground almonds, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, turmeric together. Next, add the syrup, tahini, vanilla extract, and the remaining lemon juice and zest. Mix with a wooden spoon until you form a heavy dough.
- Place baking paper on a baking tray. Now take a spoonful of the dough and roll into a ball with your hands. Place onto the tray and repeat, until you have 12 rough balls.
- In a small bowl, place your sesame seeds, and roll the top of each ball in this before returning to the tray. Place the baking tray in the already hot oven for 12-15 minutes, until crispy on top. Once cooked, remove from the oven and place on the side to cool.
- To serve, place your cherries and biscuits on plates, and (optionally) add vanilla ice cream – I like Jude’s Vanilla Ice Cream* the best!
Let me know if you decide to give this recipe a go – I hope you’ll love it as much as I do!
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links (denoted '*')
