Boozy Black Forest Shake

Straight off the bat I want to make my intentions , or mis-intentions, clear. It is not my intention to nourish your body with this recipe, I am not sneaking vegetables in to cocktails and I am not promoting this recipe as a post workout beverage. This Boozy Black Forest Shake is decadent, naughty and all the things you want from a creamy cocktail. A boozy black forest shake is liquid for the soul and grease for the mental cogs. It’s the volume in your sigh as you fold in to your fattest armchair after a long day.

A chilled chocolate and cherry shake laced with kirsch (cherry brandy) and finished with coconut ice-cream and shaved dark chocolate, a homage to the traditional black forest but better. You don’t have to bake it.

I don’t drink cocktails often. I think the last was in Nashville, New Year’s Eve 2012 at a speakeasy while we were on holiday. That’s not to say I’m a saint, I drink wine. Plenty of wine.  I just haven’t had a cocktail in a while. But some nights scream for something more, something that puts the TREAT in special treatment. I had the house to myself last week for the first time in over a year. If that’s not cause for cartwheels I don’t know what is. I ate what I wanted, had complete remote control and even went to the bathroom alone. What luxury!

Sounds wonderful, right? It was. My night of bliss and pampering included this very delicious boozy black forest shake, a tasty pea and spinach pasta dish and my very own shower. What a treat, the shower to myself. It also included bed at 8pm, a very large and loud Dane puppy across my chest and a sleepless night. Oh the irony! I couldn’t sleep without the familiar sounds of my little family. The Dane tried her best to compensate for the void in the bed by taking up every inch of our king ensemble and snoring loudly in my ear, but it just wasn’t the same. What  a strange and twisted sense of humour that Murphy has. She and her stupid laws. Parents are parents even when they’re not being parents, I guess. Comforting, yes? Unfair? Completely!

I can’t stay mad at Murphy though, not when I have boozy black forest shake. Oddly, I never indulged in the cake much but I do remember my parents loving it. Something in it’s essence inspired me though and the boozy shake was created. A chilled chocolate and black cherry shake made thicker with frozen banana, a few spoons of traditional kirsch liqueur, scoops of coconut ice-cream and shaved dark chocolate. Just to add a little extra something-something I also soak additional cherries in a few spoons of the cherry brandy and pop those in to the bottom of the glass. Drinks and dessert! Enjoy, xx.

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Boozy Black Forest Shake

Author Logan

Ingredients

1. 1 frozen banana
2. 1 415 g canned black cherries, divided in to 2 portions
3. 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
4. 4 tablespoons Kirsch (cherry brandy)
5. 1 heaped tablespoon cocoa or cacao
6. 3 scoops coconut ice-cream plus more for serving
7. 1 tablespoon dairy-free dark chocolate, shaved or grated

Instructions

1. Place half the can of black cherry with juice in a bowl and add 2 tablespoons kirsch.
2. Sit for at least an hour.
3. In a blender add the frozen banana, the un-soaked cherries, almond milk, cocoa, coconut ice-cream and remaining 2 tablespoons of kirsch and blend.
4. To make the cocktail, place the kirsch soaked cherries and their liquid in the bottom of a glass or jar.
5. Pour over the chocolate/cherry shake until the glass is almost full.
6. Add another scoop of coconut ice-cream and sprinkle the drink with grated dark chocolate.
7. Serve with a spoon and straw.