Make your own cherry sticks

Name: Cherry stems
Prep time: 1000 min
Total time: 32 h
Yield: 55
Cuisine: Swiss
Ingredients: Wheat starch, corn starch, granulated sugar, water, kirsch, dark cuverture, cocoa powder

Delicious cherry sticks for at home

Kirschstengeli are an absolute Swiss classic and delight absolutely every generation. Whether as a small snack between meals, as an indulgent treat with afternoon tea or on the sofa in the evening - these delicious chocolate bars are always a favourite. But how are they actually made and what do I need to bear in mind when making them? Well, here's the thing. It's not without reason that cherry sticks are the supreme discipline of praline making. You need the right equipment, a lot of patience and have to work very precisely. We have recorded a very detailed explanatory video to help you make this delicious praline and have also described it in detail in this article. You can of course find the right equipment in our online shop. So, what are you waiting for? Pick out your favourite stamps and start moulding the Kirschstengeli. It's worth it!

Most important key data

Quantity: For approx. 2 powder boxes

Drying time: approx. 8 hours

Resting time: 12 to 24 hours

Degree of difficulty: Difficult

Shelf life: 6 months

Powder mixture

Wheat starch		2 kg
Maize starch		1 kg

Cherry syrup

Granulated sugar		500 g
Water		200 g
Kirsch \| min. 40 % vol.		100 g

Completion

Couverture \| dark, tempered		500 g
Cocoa powder		of your choice

Powder box for cherry stalks

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Wooden bar for powder box

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Stamp for cherry stalks, classic

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Preparation of the powder boxes

Mix the wheat starch with the cornflour and then pass through a sieve. Then pour the mixture into the powder container. You can also sieve the two starches directly into the powder box. The only important thing here is to ensure that you maintain the ratio of two thirds wheat starch to one third corn starch and that the powder box is filled with enough starch.

It's best to prepare two or three boxes of powder at once so that you only have to do this once. Then stack them on top of each other and put them in the oven for at least eight hours at 50 ºC convection. This will make the powder really dry.

After the drying time, you can remove the boxes from the oven and loosen the starch mixture using a whisk. Simply run it through the mixture.

Info

We used the classic plaster mould for our cherry sticks, but in a long version. These are 6.3 cm long and 0.9 cm wide. We placed eleven of the plaster moulds on a wooden board and were able to stamp four times in the box. This gives you 88 cherry sticks with two boxes. We also recommend that you buy several of the plaster moulds so that you can work much faster.

Now you need to smooth out the loosened starch mixture again. The best way to do this is to use the back of the wooden stick to which the plaster stamps are attached. Run it over the surface several times until it is really even and flat. You can then start pressing the plaster stamps into the flat starch mixture. Make sure that there is always 1-2 cm of space between the moulds. If you do not leave enough space, the moulds may collapse. Once you have finished moulding the powder box, you can start making the syrup.

Sugar thermometer

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Syrup density meter

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Professional funnel with 3 spouts & holder

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Making the cherry syrup

Place the granulated sugar in a pan with the water and bring the mixture to a boil at exactly 108 ºC. Brush the sides of the pan generously with water. This will ensure that the sugar crystals flow back down and dissolve completely. It is best to use a silicone brush for this.

We recommend using a sugar thermometer to ensure the right temperature. Once the syrup has reached 108 ºC, remove the mixture directly from the heat and cover it with a cloth or metal plate. Leave the syrup to cool for approx. 2 minutes.

After two minutes, the kirsch is added. It is important that this has at least 40 % vol. Simply pour the kirsch into the syrup and leave the mixture to stand for about half a minute. Then pour it into a new bowl.

This bowl is then covered again (for about another half a minute) and is then carefully poured over and covered again. Repeat this step about four times. The syrup and alcohol combine very gently as a result of the careful pouring. If you were to stir in the alcohol with a ladle or whisk, sugar crystals could form - which we absolutely do not want.

As soon as the syrup has combined perfectly with the alcohol, you need to decant it again into a tall container (or syrup container) and then measure the density of the sugar with a syrup density meter. If you hold the measuring device in the liquid and press it down briefly, it will come up again. The Baumé degree (Bé) of the sugar is where the line is when the measuring device remains at the same height. In our case, this is 31 ºBé (which is exactly what we want).

If your Bé degree is correct, you can pour the syrup into a professional funnel and start pouring out the prepared moulds. Lower the funnel as far as possible so that you do not destroy the well when pouring in the syrup. Pour the syrup to just below the edge.

Once all the wells have been poured, lightly powder the surface with the lukewarm starch mixture. Make sure that it is really only a very thin layer and then leave the trays to stand at room temperature for approx. 20 minutes.

As soon as this is over, you can sieve another layer of starch powder over them until the sticks are completely covered. The crates must now be left to rest at room temperature for at least 12, preferably 24 hours.

Baker brush extra fine, 30 mm

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miniSchoggi tempering device for couverture and chocolate

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Stainless steel grille

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Completion of the Kirschstengeli

After the resting time, you now need to remove the powder from the cherry sticks. Use a fine brush to brush the powder off the surface to expose it again. As soon as you can see them clearly, you can carefully lift them out of the hollow, hold them over a separate bowl and remove the excess starch mixture. It is really important that you do this over a bowl and not over the icing box. The layer of sugar around the stengeli is wafer-thin and if you apply too much pressure when holding or brushing, it can break and the syrup will pour into your icing box. That would be very annoying. Therefore, always use a separate bowl, even if this means you have more to clean afterwards.

Place the powdered Stengeli on a cake rack. If this should break, the liquid would flow straight down and not "attack" the other sticks.

For the next step, you will need tempered couverture (we recommend dark couverture). Carefully place the powdered cherry gelato in the tempered couverture, press it down and then remove it with a stamping fork. Tap it lightly on the edge of the tempering device so that excess chocolate flows down and then place the cherry sticks on a sheet of baking paper. Leave it there to set and cover the Stengeli with another layer of couverture. Finally, you can also place it on cocoa powder and dust it with it, but this is optional.

In general, the second layer of couverture is also optional, but it is highly recommended. Especially if you want to give the Stengeli as a gift or keep them for a longer period of time, a second layer of chocolate protects them a little better. However, this also means that some of the subtle alcohol flavour is lost, as the chocolate is then thicker. As you can see, everything has its pros and cons.

You can easily store the finished cherry sticks for up to six months. You can wrap them individually in our sweet packaging and then give them as a gift. Everyone is guaranteed to be happy!

Candy wrapper, 10x10 cm, 50 pieces

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Black cocoa powder, 1 kg

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Clear bag small with hearts, 10 pieces

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Storage & shelf life

You can store these fine chocolates in airtight packaging at room temperature for up to six months.

Posted in: Sweet recipes, Chocolate and pralines, Pralines

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Make your own cherry sticks

Delicious cherry sticks for at home

Most important key data

Powder mixture

Cherry syrup

Completion

Powder box for cherry stalks

Wooden bar for powder box