Serendipity3 Cherry Pan Dowdy Recipe

Berry Tempting: Cherry Pan Dowdy

June 15, 2010

Whenever I'm in New York, I try to squeeze in a trip to what I call the four B's — Bergdorf, Barneys, Bloomingdale's, and Bendel — if for nothing else, just to soak up New York fashion in all its splendor. While I'm in the neighborhood, I love to stop by Serendipity3, another Upper East Side institution known for its madcap glamour, for a little refreshment.While I haven't had the restaurant's $25,000 Frrrozen Haute Chocolate, a friend did gift me the cookbook one year, and it includes some whimsical creations that I've turned to time and time again. For instance, if you flip for strawberry shortcake, you'll gravitate toward this delightful tower of whipped cream and glazed cherries, anchored by a crumbly little tea cake. There's no better way to enjoy cooked cherries. To re-create it in your kitchen, read more.

From Sweet Serendipity: Delightful Desserts and Devilish Dish by Stephen Bruce

Cherry Pan Dowdy

Ingredients

Filling:
2 15.5-ounce cans pitted cherries (can use sweet, or a combination of sweet and tart cherries)
1/2 cup kirsch liqueur
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup sugar

Biscuits:
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces, plus extra for the pan
2/3 cup cold milk
1 large egg
1 tablespoon heavy cream
Granulated sugar, for dusting (such as Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Sugar)
1 pint heavy cream, whipped, for serving
Special equipment: 2-1/2" round cutter

Directions

Drain the cherries well, reserving the juice. Macerate the cherries in the kirsch for 2 hours.
Make the biscuits: Preheat your oven to 425ºF. Combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Process briefly to blend; add the butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 15 to 30 seconds. Add the milk and process until just incorporated; the dough will be dry.
Working the dough as little as possible, turn it out onto a clean surface and bring it together with your hands into a ball. Press the ball flat to a thickness of 1/2 inch. Cut out biscuits with a sharp 2 1/2-inch round cutter and place them on a buttered baking sheet, 1 inch apart.
Lightly beat the egg in a small dish, add the cream, and stir. Brush each biscuit with the egg wash, and then sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake for 10 minutes, until golden brown and puffed. Transfer to a rack. Keep warm for serving.
Make the filling Drain the macerated cherries again, add the kirsch to the reserved juice. Set the cherries aside.
Blend 2 tablespoons of the cherry liquid with the cornstarch until there are no lumps. Combine the rest of the liquid with the sugar in a medium saucepan. Blend in the cornstarch mixture. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
In another saucepan, heat the cherries with as much of the sauce as you desire. The more sauce, the more will soak into the biscuits.
To serve, split a warm biscuit in half. Place 1/2 cup warm cherry sauce on bottom half of the biscuit. Place the other half biscuit on top, forming a sandwich. Slather the whole thing in whipped cream.

Makes about 8 frumpy cakes.