Midnight Orchard Fruit Cheese (Printable Version)

A striking arrangement of dark cherries, plums, grapes, and creamy goat cheese with optional walnuts and honey.

# What You Need:

→ Fruit

01 - 1 cup dark cherries, pitted and halved
02 - 2 ripe plums, sliced into wedges
03 - 1 cup purple grapes, halved

→ Cheese

04 - 7 oz black-ashed goat cheese, sliced or crumbled

→ Garnishes

05 - 2 tbsp toasted walnuts (optional)
06 - 1 tbsp honey (optional)
07 - Fresh thyme sprigs (for decoration)

# Steps:

01 - Arrange the dark cherries, plum wedges, and purple grapes on a large serving platter, grouping each fruit for visual appeal.
02 - Place slices or crumbles of black-ashed goat cheese alongside the fruit.
03 - Sprinkle toasted walnuts over the platter if using, and drizzle lightly with honey for added sweetness.
04 - Garnish with fresh thyme sprigs.
05 - Serve immediately, allowing guests to create their own pairings.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It comes together in fifteen minutes when you need something that looks like you tried without the stress.
  • The tartness of goat cheese against sweet fruit feels like a small luxurious discovery on every bite.
  • Guests love building their own combinations, which somehow makes the whole thing more fun than plating it yourself.
02 -
  • Room temperature fruit tastes infinitely better than cold fruit, so pull everything from the refrigerator at least thirty minutes before serving so the flavors can actually sing.
  • If your plums are rock hard, they'll taste disappointing, so squeeze them gently before buying and accept that timing matters more than perfection here.
  • Black-ashed goat cheese can taste chalky or drying if it's been sitting around, so buy it the day you plan to serve this platter and taste a piece before committing.
03 -
  • Pit your cherries ahead of time and store them in a shallow bowl so they're ready to arrange when you need them, which saves you stress in the final moments.
  • If your goat cheese is too soft to slice cleanly, dip your knife in hot water between cuts or chill the cheese for fifteen minutes so it becomes easier to work with.
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