Remove the stalks from 250g of ripe cherries, cut them in half and discard their stones.
Pour 100ml of elderflower cordial into a mixing bowl with the cherries and leave them to marinate for a good hour in the fridge.
Put 100g of ricotta cheese in a mixing bowl and stir in 2 heaped tbsp of icing sugar. Cut 2 knobs of preserved ginger into small pieces and stir into the sweetened ricotta.
Toast 2 thick slices of open-textured bread on both sides. Put them on plates, then spoon some of the cherry, elderflower marinade over them, letting it soak into the toast.
Place some of the gingered ricotta on to each toast, then spoon over the ripe cherries and the remaining marinade.
Eat while the toast is still hot, dusted, should you wish, with a light fall of icing sugar. Enough for 2. Ready in 25 minutes
Apricots work well here, too. Slice the fruit in half, remove their stones, then marinate the apricots as you would the cherries, but for a little longer.
I sometimes make this with toasted brioche rather than bread, use raspberries instead of the cherries, and then spoon a little honey over the fruit and ricotta. Toasted, flaked almonds add a delightful change of texture, scattered over the surface.
You could also make a sandwich of this, filling 2 slices of toast with ricotta, ginger and crushed raspberries. I love trickling dark chocolate over the toast, too, letting it set crisp on the snowy filling, the bitter notes working well with both cherries and raspberries.
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