Cherry and Pistachio Dessert Recipe

Glazed and semi-dried cherries, pistachio cake, warm doughnut

Dessert
challenging
6
2 hours, plus 3 hours resting/freezing

PT2H

PT3H

Michael Wignall's dessert is a truly spectacular dish, comprised of multiple cherry, pistachio and yoghurt elements served with a warm doughnut and a disc of marzipan.

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Ingredients

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Metric

Imperial

Yoghurt sorbet

335g of water
170g of sugar
80g of glucose powder
6g of sorbet stabiliser
375g of yoghurt

Poached cherries

500g of cherries, pitted
50ml of kirsch
100ml of dessert wine
70g of sugar
1g of citric acid

Doughnuts

250g of flour
125ml of milk, (warmed to 37°C)
10g of yeast
25g of sugar
5g of salt
1 egg
50g of butter, melted

Pistachio paste

250g of pistachio nut
500g of water

Pistachio cake

4 eggs
125g of sugar
105g of ground almonds
125g of butter

Marzipan

180g of icing sugar
140g of ground almonds
140g of ground pistachio nuts
50g of egg white

Pistachio powder

100g of maltodextrin
20g of pistachio oil

Cherry gel

400g of cherry juice
4g of agar agar

Cherry tagliatelle

240g of cherry juice
2.4g of agar agar

Crystallised pistachios

50g of sugar
50g of water
100g of pistachio nut

To plate

50g of natural yoghurt
25g of freeze-dried yoghurt

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Begin by making the yoghurt sorbet. Bring all of the ingredients (except the yoghurt) to the boil then allow to cool. Using a hand blender, blend in the yoghurt and transfer to Pacojet containers and into the freezer

335g of water
170g of sugar
80g of glucose powder
6g of sorbet stabiliser
375g of yoghurt

To poach the cherries, place all of the ingredients in a pan and bring to the boil. Add the cherries and cook until tender for 5-10 minutes. Leave to cool and store in the cooking liquor. Drain 12 cherries and transfer to a dehydrator for 3 hours until dried

500g of cherries, pitted
50ml of kirsch
100ml of dessert wine
70g of sugar
1g of citric acid

Make the doughnut mix by mixing together 100g of the flour, the milk and yeast in a bowl. Tightly cover with cling film and prove in a warm place until doubled in size

100g of flour
125ml of milk, (warmed to 37°C)
10g of yeast

When doubled in size, return to the mixer and add the rest of the flour, sugar and salt. Mixing on a medium speed, add the egg. Once combined, add the butter and mix for a further 18 minutes

25g of sugar
5g of salt
1 egg
50g of butter, melted

Allow to rest for 2 hours. Just before serving, deep-fry small balls of the batter at 180°C until golden brown. Drain and roll in caster sugar

Make the pistachio paste by boiling the water and pistachios until they are soft. Transfer to blender and blitz into a paste

150g of pistachio nut
115g of water

For the pistachio cake, preheat the oven to 150°C/gas mark 2

Whisk the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy. Melt the butter, then mix with the almonds and 180g of pistachio paste

3 eggs
125g of sugar
105g of ground almonds
125g of butter

Gently fold in half of the egg mixture, followed by the other half. Spread on to a shallow baking tray and bake for 30 minutes

For the marzipan, blitz everything except the egg whites in a food processor until you have a fine powder. Whisk the egg whites, fold into the almond powder then roll the mixture between two pieces of parchment paper until 0.3mm thick

180g of icing sugar
140g of ground almonds
140g of ground pistachio nuts
50g of egg white

Cut out rounds of the marzipan with a 5cm diameter cutter and blowtorch the top until slightly blackened

For the pistachio powder, place the maltodextrin into a bowl and slowly drizzle in the pistachio oil, whisking until a powder is created

100g of maltodextrin
20g of pistachio oil

To make the cherry gel, place both ingredients in a saucepan, bring to the boil for 1 minute and set in a tray in the fridge. When completely set, blitz in a blender until smooth and pass through a fine sieve. Store in a squeezy bottle until required

4g of agar agar
160g of cherry juice

Make the cherry tagliatelle by bringing both of the ingredients to the boil for 1 minute. Pour on to a warm metal tray to a thickness of 2mm, moving the tray around so that you get even coverage. Allow to set in the fridge then cut into 5mm strips

240g of cherry juice
2.4g of agar agar

To make the crystallised pistachios, bring the water and sugar to 113°C then stir in the nuts. Keep stirring until the sugar crystallises then tip onto a tray to cool

50g of water
50g of sugar
100g of pistachio nut

To plate, brush the pistachio paste across the plate. Cut the pistachio cake into small pieces and add 6 pieces to each plate. Add the dried and poached cherries, place one doughnut on each plate then lay the cherry tagliatelle and crystallised pistachios around the plate. Pipe dots of the cherry gel and natural yoghurt on the plate. Finish with a piece of marzipan, a sprinkle of freeze-dried yoghurt and a quenelle of sorbet

50g of natural yoghurt
25g of freeze-dried yoghurt

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Michael Wignall

Michael Wignall could have been a professional BMX biker. It was a fortunate day for foodies everywhere when he decided instead to work under legendary Northern chef Paul Heathcote.