This easy sauce takes just 10 minutes to make, start-to-finish (plus chill time). It can be refrigerated and eaten within a week or frozen to enjoy throughout the year.  

It's so versatile! It's a delicious topping or mix-in for lots of things:

• topping for ice cream and sundaes (try it on homemade Vanilla Bean Ice Cream along with Velvet Hot Fudge Sauce)
• topping for cheesecake
• topping for short cake
• topping angel food cake (try homemade Heavenly Angel Food Cake)
• topping for waffles, pancakes, and French toast
• mixed in milk shakes
• mixed in yogurt
• mixed in smoothies
• mixed with sparkling water or iced tea
• layered in a parfait (with granola and yogurt or ice cream)
• spread on toast, bagels, or muffins in place of jam

It's so easy! I figured out how to make this sauce in the microwave, just to keep it simple and avoid using my stove in the summer heat. This method is so easy and is oh-so-yummy. (If you prefer, you can simmer it on the stovetop instead of using the microwave.)

Step-by-step photos for making
Microwave Cherry Sauce 

Step 1. Assemble the ingredients: 

• cherries--fresh or thawed frozen, sweet or sour (I prefer the flavor of sour cherries, but they are harder to find. So, I usually use big sweet  cherries as pictured below. Both kinds make a yummy sauce.)
• sugar
• corn starch--this helps thicken the sauce since cherries don't have much natural pectin
• fresh lemon juice--half a lemon yields the right amount
• almond extract

Step 2. Pit the cherries, if they're fresh. (Frozen berries come already pitted.) I use this awesome cherry pitter that removes the pits from 6 cherries in 1 swipe. A tray in the bottom catches the pits. During cherry season, I use this pitter frequently for quickly adding cherries to fresh fruit salad.

view on Amazon:  easy cherry pitter

Step 3. Mince half of the cherries by adding them to a food processor or blender. I'm using a mini-food processor in these photos. Pulse until cherries are the consistency of relish. (You may also mince cherries with a knife by hand--be careful not to get cherry juice on surfaces that may stain.)

• NOTE: I prefer a rustic-looking sauce with some minced and some whole cherries. You may choose to mince all of the cherries or leave them all whole--whatever you prefer for the texture of your sauce. 

view on Amazon:  Mini Prep Food Processor

Step 4. Add cherries (whole and minced) to a 2-quart (8-cup) microwave-safe bowl. (You need a bowl at least this big because the cherry mixture expands more than double as it cooks in the microwave.)

Step 5. Sprinkle corn starch over the cherries. If your cornstarch is clumpy, sift it through a metal mesh strainer as you sprinkle it over the cherries.

Step 6. Add the sugar, fresh lemon juice, and almond extract.

Step 7. Give all that a quick stir.

view on Amazon:  2-qt Mix-and-Measure bowl, citrus squeeze juicer

Step 8. Microwave, uncovered, at full power for 7 minutes. If there is visible foam on the cooked mixture--no worries. It will disappear as it cools and is stirred.

• NOTE: Check the wattage of your microwave and adjust time accordingly. 7 minutes is recommended for a 1200W microwave.

Step 9. Let the sauce sit on the counter for 30 minutes uncovered. It will thicken some as it cools. Then transfer it to the refrigerator until it's completely chilled.

A pint mason jar is the perfect size to hold 1 batch of sauce, but any covered container will do. It will keep for at least 3-4 weeks in the fridge. Maybe longer, but ours hasn't lasted long enough to find out!

Freeze it! When cherries are in season, I make up several batches of this easy sauce to freeze and enjoy throughout the year. It only takes 30 minutes to make 3 microwave batches of sauce that yields 6 half-pint jars. They keep in the freezer for at least 6 months.

It's such a treat to have this fresh-tasting summer sauce in the middle of winter. To thaw, move it from the freezer to the refrigerator the day before use.  For faster thawing outside of the fridge, partially submerge jar in a bowl of cool water.

view on Amazon:  half-pint mason jars,  plastic jar lids (durable and easy to screw on and off), dissolvable labels 

Cherry sauce really elevates the flavor of cheesecake--a perfect pairing!

It's awesome on vanilla ice cream, too. Yum!!!

Make it a Yummy day!

Monica

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Microwave Cherry Sauce

By Monica              Servings: 1 3/4 to 2 cups

Ingredients

• 16 oz (4 cups) fresh or thawed frozen cherries (sweet or sour), stemmed, pitted, and divided
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice (from half lemon)
• 1/8 teaspoon almond extract

Directions

Add half of cherries (2 cups) to mini food processor or blender, pulse until consistency of a relish. (Or, mince cherries finely with a knife, being careful of cherry juice staining surfaces.)

To a 2 quart (or larger) microwave-safe bowl, add whole and minced cherries. Sprinkle cornstarch over top. (If cornstarch is lumpy, sift it through a fine mesh strainer onto cherries.)  Add sugar, lemon juice, and almond extract. Stir to evenly combine. Microwave uncovered at full power for 7 minutes. Cool to room temperature, uncovered, for 30 minutes; sauce will thicken some as it cools. Cover and store in refrigerator for at least 3-4 weeks. May also be frozen for up to a year.

Service over ice cream, cheesecake, angel food cake, pancakes, waffles or toast. Add to yogurt, smoothies, or oatmeal.

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Here are more fresh fruit sauce recipes from The Yummy Life:

• Blender Peach Sauce
• Microwave Raspberry Sauce
• Microwave Blueberry Sauce
• Fruit and Spice Applesauce Blends