Recommendations
Cherry vlaai with Rutte Koornwyn
On the plate is a slice of cherry vlaai: a soft yeast dough with a filling of coarsely chopped dark cherries, thickened with cornflour, under a lattice of the same dough with coarse sugar on top. Set against it is a korenwijn from Dordrecht, a blend of malt wine of different ages that has been distilled four times over juniper and herbs.
From the shelf
The bottle
Rutte Koornwyn comes from Rutte in Dordrecht. It is a corenwijn of 40% vol in a bottle of 100 cl, described as a blend of malt wine of various ages, distilled four times over juniper berries and a palette of herbs. The description gives no precise malt wine share or maturation time. For the designation korenwijn, at least 51% malt wine in the alcohol component, at least 38% vol and at most 20 grams of sugar per litre apply; at 40% vol this bottle is above that lower limit.
The combination
Why this works together
Cherry vlaai is more tart than it looks. The yeast dough is barely sweet and rather bread-like, the dark cherries bring a clear tartness, and only the coarse sugar on top adds sweetness. That bread-like dough is the connecting point: korenwijn, with at least 51% malt wine at its core, is a grain spirit, and aged malt wine develops an aroma close to fresh bread and dried fruit. A young jenever lacks that and, served ice cold, would only amplify the cherry tartness. This Koornwyn lays a grain-sweet layer beneath the cherries, and the botanicals from the fourth still run find the dark cherry flavour that sits close to almond and stone fruit. At 40% vol there is also enough alcohol to cut through the buttery pastry. That makes the glass the base layer of the vlaai rather than a closer afterwards.
At the table
The dish
- For 4 people
- Ready in 45 minutes, plus 1 hour rising and 30 minutes in the oven
- Type dessert
What you need
- 100 ml lukewarm milk
- 5 g active dry yeast
- 250 g flour
- 30 g sugar
- 4 g salt
- 1 egg
- 55 g soft butter
- 2 cans of dark sweet cherries of 453 g
- 10 g cornstarch
- 15 g sugar for the filling
- 3 tablespoons breadcrumbs or panko
- 2 tablespoons coarse sugar
- a tart tin of 24 to 28 cm
How to make it
- Knead the flour, yeast, milk, butter, sugar, salt and half of the beaten egg into a soft dough. Leave it to rise for about 45 minutes in a greased, covered bowl.
- Meanwhile let the cherries drain and catch the juice. Chop the cherries roughly.
- Heat the juice with the 15 g sugar, thicken it with the cornflour dissolved in a little cold juice, add the cherries and let the filling cool.
- Preheat the oven to 200 °C. Roll out two thirds of the dough and line the greased vlaai tin. Roll out the rest and cut strips from it for the lattice.
- Prick holes in the base, sprinkle the breadcrumbs over it and spoon in the cooled cherry filling.
- Lay the strips of dough crosswise over the filling and let the vlaai rise for another 15 to 20 minutes.
- Brush the lattice with the rest of the egg and sprinkle the coarse sugar over it. Bake the vlaai for 25 to 30 minutes and let it cool on a rack.
In the glass
Serving
Pour the Rutte Koornwyn at room temperature into a tulip glass, filled to the rim. The aged malt wine is the reason for this pairing and only opens up at around 18 °C; chilled, only alcohol is left next to a tart filling. A small glass is enough: the vlaai is a course in itself.
Everything about Rutte KoornwynBack to Recommendations from ’t Bockje
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