How to Make a Cherry Bakewell Cocktail
This cherry bakewell cocktail is a dessert cocktail inspired by the flavors in a cherry bakewell tart. Bakewell tarts are made with pastry topped with frangipane (an almond custard) and then a layer of jam.
The cocktail recipe itself follows a sidecar pattern. Both are brandy-based cocktails with added liqueur and lemon juice. Instead of the orange liqueur used in the sidecar, make this cherry Bakewell cocktail with an almond liqueur and cherry liqueur.
Warning! The easy sipping of these cocktails can make them dangerous!
Tips and tricks
You may never have encountered a bakewell tart if you’re not a Great British Bake-Off fan or from that part of the world. This is Mary Berry’s bakewell tart recipe, for example.
I made the original cherry bakewell tart cocktail with cherry brandy (aka kirsch or kirschwasser), cherry liqueur, and amaretto (an almond-flavored liqueur), with a almond-sugar rim. That original recipe is now a variation in the recipe card.
A classic brandy now acts as the anchor in this reworked cocktail instead of the cherry brandy. And a teaspoon of syrup from a jar of Luxardo cherries provides additional cherry flavor.
If you are using the bright red maraschinos for garnish, add a teaspoon of plain simple syrup instead. Feel free to omit this syrup or use more, depending on your desired level of sweetness.
FAQs
I ground almonds in a food processor, but you could also use almond flour, which is itself just finely ground almonds.
No, go ahead and shake to whatever song you like. But there a few things you shouldn’t do.
No. There’s tradition, and then there’s what really matters. Just like with wine glasses, as long as you’re not drinking out of plastic, you’re not likely to be able to taste any difference. The idea that you need different glasses for wine is myth and marketing.
Yes, that’s the way mr. uglyduckling preferred this cocktail. If you do, go ahead and skip the sugared rim.
It’s just a sweet cherry that has been dyed and sweetened further. Feel free to garnish with a Luxardo or any other sweet cherry that you prefer.
Related recipes
Check out the uglyducklingbakery beverage archives for house favorites like:
Gin espresso martini
Creamy espresso martini with Baileys
Peanut butter manhattan
The “Lady Bridgerton” Empress 1908 gin cocktail with Earl Grey tea and lavender
Or, if you just like the combination of cherry and almond, check out these cherry Bakewell blondies or this cherry crisp with almond topping.
Cherry Bakewell Cocktail
Equipment
- Cocktail shaker
Ingredients
Almond sugar rim
- 1 tablespoon ground almonds or almond flour
- 1 tablespoon superfine sugar
Cherry bakewell cocktail
- 1 ½ ounce (45 milliliter) brandy
- ½ ounce (15 milliliter) amaretto
- ½ ounce (15 milliliter) Heering cherry liqueur
- ½ ounce (15 milliliter) lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Luxardo syrup or simple syrup
- cherry, for garnish
Instructions
- Combine the ground almond and sugar on a small plate. Rub the edge of the lemon around the edge of the glass, and dip the glass upside down into the almond-sugar to sugar the rim of the glass.1 tablespoon ground almonds, 1 tablespoon superfine sugar
- Add the brandy, Amaretto, cherry liqueur, lemon juice, and syrup to a cocktail shaker full of ice, shake, and strain into your glass.1 ½ ounce (45 milliliter) brandy, ½ ounce (15 milliliter) amaretto, ½ ounce (15 milliliter) Heering cherry liqueur, ½ ounce (15 milliliter) lemon juice, 1 teaspoon Luxardo syrup or simple syrup
- Garnish with a cherry or two and enjoy!cherry, for garnish
Notes
Nutrition
This cherry bakewell cocktail recipe was originally posted on May 21, 2021. It was last updated May 28, 2022.
What’s next
If you make this cherry bakewell cocktail or want to see me create an uglyducklingbakery recipe for cherry bakewell tart, please leave a comment or rating here. Pretty please!
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