My own little episode of "Chopped" -- Dessert style

After dinner tonight (a marinated and grilled London broil with fresh potato salad, corn on the cob and steamed green beans), I decided that it was time to use up a small bunch of ranier cherries that were going to be trash before the next few days were over.

I had been thinking all day that maybe they should become some sort of dessert, so I looked around the kitchen to see what else was on hand, and played my own little game of Chopped.  This is what happened (all within a matter of about 20-30 minutes, the customary allotted time on the show)....

First, I got my oven warming to 350-degrees, because I knew that I'd be using a couple of cupcake cups of yellow cake batter than we had in the freezer.

As those were thawing out, I picked out the cherries with any kind of rot or mold, then pitted and chopped up the rest and threw them into a small sauce pot along with some juice and zest from the lemon that I had used to make a glass of lemonade with dinner.

Next, I added what I estimate to be about a quarter to a half cup of white grape juice from the fridge (bought for a rib recipe but always comes way too much in the bottle than we need for it) and maybe 5 or 6 teaspoons of sugar.

 
I tossed the cupcakes into the oven, set the timer for 20 minutes, and then came back to the cherry mixture which I brought to a boil and then turned it down to simmer.

At this point, I began thinking: "What else does this dish need?"  Chocolate sauce, duh.  Or....chocolate filling!  Back to the cabinet I went and grabbed a Hershey bar (leftover from a S'mores adventure).  I broke it up into a measuring cup and added a couple tablespoons of milk.  I set this aside and waited for the cupcakes and cherry sauce to be done.

This is where it all comes together.  I popped the chocolate into the microwave for 15 seconds, then stirred it to make sure it was all melted.  It turned out a little thin, so I plopped in a spoonful of cornstarch and put it back into the microwave for another 30 seconds (until it boiled).  Another few stirs and it was nice and thick like a ganache.

Time for plating!!!  I used my pastry bag with a wide tip to pipe the chocolate into the center of the now unwrapped cupcakes, piped some onto the plate, and spooned the cherry sauce both onto the plate and on top of the cupcake.  Presto:

It was gooooood!  And husband approved.  :)