Chocolate & Jerte Picota Cherry Brownies

Chocolate & Jerte Picota Cherry Brownies

Cherries and Chocolate are a match made in heaven!  But Jerte Picota Cherries make this recipe as they are so deliciously sweet and juicy.

Makes 12

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cooking time:  40 minutes

Ingredients

100g dark chocolate, chopped

100g butter, softened

200g light brown sugar

2 free range eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

100g plain flour

150g Jerte Picota Cherries, pitted & halved

Preparation method

1.    Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C Fan/Gas mark 4.  Grease and line a 20cm square cake tin.

2.    Put the chocolate into a bowl and place over a pan of simmering water making sure the bowl does not touch the water.  Remove when melted and allow to cool slightly.

3.    Meanwhile, place the butter and sugar into a bowl and whisk until light and pale. Gradually beat in the eggs and vanilla extract and the mix through the flour and melted chocolate until mixed through and smooth.

4.    Now fold through the Jerte Picota Cherries and pour into the cake tin.  Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes.  Allow the brownies to cool and then cut into squares.  Enjoy!

Why Jerte Picota Cherries?

·    The Jerte Picota Cherry is a special variety of cherry that is native to the beautiful Jerte Valley in Northern Extremadura, Spain, 200km west of Madrid. This area is famous for the incredible cherry blossom of more than a million trees that takes place each year.

·         It is a 100% natural product that follows a natural growing season, which is why the arrival of the Jerte Picota Cherry changes each year and why they are only available for six weeks each summer.

·         When the cherries are ready to be harvested at optimum ripeness, they are hand-picked off the trees, leaving the stalks behind, and placed into chestnut baskets. This is why they are sold without a stalk.

·         Jerte Picota Cherries are usually available from the end of June until the beginning of August in the UK, and they are expected to arrive in stores from the beginning of July, due to the cold winter this year.

·         The Jerte Picota Cherry are a P.D.O. Product (P.D.O. standing for Protected Designation of Origin) which certifies that the fruit has been grown, harvested and packed under rigorous quality-controlled procedures and has come exclusively from the Jerte Valley in Spain.

·         The Jerte Picota is not only unique from its P.D.O. status but also from its stalkless harvest and its shape, which has a slight peak to the base, hence the word ‘Picota’ means ‘peaked’.

For more information on Jerte Picota P.D.O., please visit https://cerezadeljerte.org/en/