Fresh Cherry Sauce Recipe For Desserts And Toppings

When fresh cherries finally start showing up in stores, one of the easiest ways to enjoy them is by turning them into a simple homemade sauce. This easy cherry sauce recipe can be spooned over pancakes, waffles, scones, cheesecake, vanilla ice cream, or other favorite desserts. It also makes a perfect topping for breakfast treats when you want something fresher than syrup.

This simple recipe uses just three ingredients and comes together in about 15 minutes. If you’re using Bing cherries or another sweet cherry variety, you’ll get a naturally sweeter sauce with very little effort. During cherry season, fresh cherries become much easier to find in grocery stores, making this a great way to use some of the fresh fruit available throughout the summer.

Fresh cherry sauce is a cooked fruit sauce made with fresh cherries, sugar, and water. As the cherries simmer over medium heat, they release their juices and soften into a sweet cherry sauce that can be left thin for pancakes and waffles or thickened for cheesecake and other dessert toppings.

This simple recipe uses just three ingredients and comes together in about 15 minutes. If you’re using Bing cherries or other sweet cherry varieties, you’ll get a naturally sweeter sauce with very little effort. During cherry season, a typical two-pound bag of cherries can be used for several cherry recipes, including this delicious homemade cherry sauce.

This easy cherry sauce recipe can be spooned over pancakes, waffles, homemade Cherry Scones, cheesecake, vanilla ice cream, or other favorite desserts.

Quick Answer

Fresh cherry sauce is a cooked fruit sauce made from fresh cherries, sugar, and water. This fresh cherry sauce recipe creates a versatile topping that works on pancakes, scones, cheesecake, ice cream, and other desserts.

Growing up in Northern Ontario, my mother planted a pair of cherry trees on the hillside opposite her vegetable garden. Cherry trees take several years before they begin producing fruit, and I still remember helping pollinate the blossoms with a small paintbrush because the bees were not doing enough of the work. We only harvested a handful of cherries during those early years, but it taught me that cherries are worth the wait.

Why You’ll Love This Fresh Cherry Sauce Recipe

Simple Ingredients: This fresh cherry sauce recipe uses only cherries, sugar, and water. Because the recipe uses only three ingredients, the natural cherry flavor remains the focus.

Easy To Adjust: You can leave the sauce thinner for pancakes and waffles or thicken it for cheesecake and dessert toppings.

Uses Fresh Cherries: This is a practical way to use extra fresh cherries its a great way to turn fresh fruit into a quick topping.

Freezer-Friendly Fruit Option: Frozen cherries can also be used when fresh cherries are unavailable.

Versatile Topping: The finished sauce works on everything from breakfast dishes to favorite desserts.

How to Make Fresh Cherry Sauce

When selecting cherries for fresh cherry sauce, look for fruit that is firm, glossy, and free from mold or large soft spots. Slightly soft cherries are not necessarily a problem for sauce because they will be cooked down anyway, but cherries that are leaking, fermented-smelling, moldy, or badly bruised should be discarded. If you’re unsure what to look for, see my guide on how to choose and pit cherries for a closer look at good cherries, overripe cherries, and cherries that should not be used.

Next you will begin by washing your fresh cherries and removing the pits. A cherry pitter makes this much faster, especially if you’re working through a two-pound bag of cherries during cherry season. Once pitted, cut the cherries in half. If you prefer smaller pieces in your finished fresh cherry sauce, you can cut them into quarters instead.

Add the prepared cherries and water to a small saucepan and place it over medium heat. As the cherries cook, they will begin to soften and release their natural juices. At first, it may not seem like there is enough liquid in the pan, but resist the urge to add more water. The fruit contains plenty of moisture, and that liquid will become the base of the sauce.

Once the cherries have softened and created a juicy, almost soupy mixture, add the sugar and stir well. This process is similar to making a simple fruit jam. Allowing the fruit to cook first lets the cherries release their juices before the sugar is added, helping create a more concentrated cherry flavor.

Continue cooking over medium heat, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. As the sugar dissolves into the cherry juices, the sauce will begin to thicken. You may notice a light foam forming on top of the mixture. This is normal and is a sign that the fruit juices and sugar are reducing together.

For a thinner sauce that works well on pancakes, waffles, and homemade scones, remove the saucepan from the heat once the cherries are soft and the liquid has slightly thickened. The sauce will continue thickening as it cools because cherries naturally contain pectin.

If you want a thicker cherry topping for cheesecake, pound cake, vanilla ice cream, or other desserts, continue cooking for a few additional minutes. You can also stir in a cornstarch slurry made from 1 teaspoon cornstarch and 2 tablespoons cold water. Mix the slurry until smooth before adding it to the saucepan to prevent lumps from forming.

Once the fresh cherry sauce reaches your preferred consistency, remove it from the heat and allow it to cool slightly before serving. The finished sauce can be served warm, at room temperature, or chilled depending on how you plan to use it.

Ingredients

This recipe uses a very small ingredient list and relies on the natural flavor of sweet cherries.

Fresh sweet cherries: The main ingredient in this fresh cherry sauce recipe. Pitting and halving the cherries allows them to soften more evenly while cooking. Quartering them creates a finer texture. Bing cherries are one of the most common sweet cherry varieties found in grocery stores, but this fresh cherry sauce recipe works with almost any sweet cherry variety.

White sugar: Helps sweeten the cherries while drawing out moisture from the fruit. As the sugar dissolves, the sauce begins to develop its syrupy consistency.

Water: Prevents the cherries from sticking during the early stages of cooking and helps create the sauce base.

Substitutions and Add-Ins for Fresh Cherry Sauce

This fresh cherry sauce recipe is flexible and can be adjusted depending on how you plan to use it.

Fresh sweet cherries: Sour cherries can be substituted, but you may need additional sugar because tart cherries are less sweet than sweet cherries.

White sugar: Brown sugar can be used, although it will add a deeper flavor and slightly darker color.

Water: Cherry juice may be substituted for part of the water to create a stronger cherry flavor.

Variations you may like:

Cornstarch: Not required for this fresh cherry sauce recipe. If a thicker sauce is desired, mix 1 teaspoon cornstarch with 2 tablespoons cold water to create a cornstarch slurry. Stir it into the sauce during the final minutes of cooking.

Lemon juice: A small amount can be added for additional brightness, particularly if the cherries are very sweet.

Butter: A tablespoon of butter stirred in at the end creates a slightly glossier finish.

What To Serve With Fresh Cherry Sauce

My favorite way to use this fresh cherry sauce is on pancakes and homemade cherry scones, but it also makes a delicious topping for vanilla ice cream, cheesecake, pound cake, rice pudding, and waffle bowls. A spoonful can even be used as a shortcut topping for Black Forest Cake-inspired desserts when fresh cherries are in season.

Expert Tips, Serving and Storing Suggestions

Tip #1: Watch The Foam: As the cherry sauce cooks, the mixture becomes foamy. This is a good sign that the sugar and cherry juices are reducing.

Tip #2: Let It Cool Before Judging Thickness: This sauce becomes slighter thicker as it cools due to the natural pectin in the cherries.

Tip #3: Use A Cherry Pitter: A cherry pitter makes preparing fresh cherries much faster, especially when making multiple batches.

Tip #4: Match The Thickness To The Use: Thinner sauce works best on pancakes and waffles, while thicker sauce works better for cheesecake and dessert toppings.

Serve it warm, at room temperature, or chilled. I can almost guarantee this fresh cherry sauce is especially good spooned over homemade vanilla ice cream when cherries are in season.

Store the fruit sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days for best quality. It may remain acceptable for up to 3 days, but the cherries will continue breaking down in the sauce.