Midnight Orchard Fruit Cheese (Printable)

An elegant arrangement of dark cherries, plums, grapes, and black-ashed 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

# Directions:

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 arranged fruit.
03 - Sprinkle toasted walnuts over the platter if desired, then drizzle lightly with honey to enhance sweetness.
04 - Garnish with fresh thyme sprigs and serve immediately, allowing guests to create their own pairings.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It looks fancy enough to impress without requiring you to actually cook anything.
  • The goat cheese cuts through the fruit's sweetness in exactly the right way, like a conversation between two people who finally understand each other.
  • Fifteen minutes means you can pull this together while your guests are still taking off their coats.
02 -
  • Don't chill the platter before serving—cold mutes the flavor of fruit, and you want everything tasting like itself, not like the refrigerator.
  • Pit the cherries ahead of time if you can, so guests don't have to do it while eating; it's one small detail that feels like you actually thought about them.
03 -
  • If you're worried about fruit browning before guests arrive, toss the cut fruit with the tiniest squeeze of lemon juice just before serving—it stays bright without tasting acidic.
  • Arrange everything about ten minutes before people arrive; this platter gets better when you live with it for just a moment before sharing it.
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