Chriesisturm

Chriesesturm, Chriesibrägel, Kirschenmus, Compote de Cerises, however you make it and whatever you call it, cherry compote is a great use of beautiful Swiss cherries.

In my understanding, Brägel is a fruit compote thickened with flour. Toasted, sugared bread (leftover Zopf is particularly heavenly) is used to top many variations of Brägel, Sturm, Mus or compote.

I had a bit of a cherry windfall last week, as my in-laws brought us a giant flat of cherries they’d picked at a family member’s farm. But cherries aren’t the only fruit that takes to compoting, I posted about the very similar Höibeeristurm (with blueberries) in 2020.

There are plenty of recipes online for similar compotes. A great tip comes from Rolli of Rollis Rezepte, who pits his cherries by placing them over a bottle and popping out the pits with a skewer. My friend Heddi over at Cuisine Helvetica spikes her recipe with Kirsch, and you can check out a few different historic variations on the doazmol website, which catalogues traditional Swiss recipes from old cookbooks.

500 g cherries, pitted

2 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp butter

200 g leftover bread

1 tsp cornstrach

3 tbsp cold milk

2 tsp vanilla paste or extract

80 ml whipping cream

Place your cherries in a large bowl and mash lightly with a potato masher or fork. Sprinkle with 2 tbsp sugar and mix in. Set aside.

In a large frying pan, heat the butter over medium heat. When it starts to sputter, sprinkle over 2 tbsp sugar. Let the sugar dissolve, then add the cubed bread and keep stirring until the bread is toasted.

Remove the bread and set aside.

Add the cherries to the frying pan and cook for a few minutes until they begin to break down. Whisk the cornstrach into the cold milk, then add to the cherries and let thicken.

Stir in the vanilla and take off the heat. Have a quick taste for sweetness, and if the cherries are too tart, add a bit more sugar. You can stir in the cream here, or pop it in a pitcher and people can add it themselves at the table.

Spoon into bowls, topping with the toasted bread.