Midnight Orchard Fruit Cheese (Printable Version)

A sophisticated fruit and cheese display featuring cherries, plums, grapes, and creamy black-ashed goat cheese.

# 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 tablespoons toasted walnuts (optional)
06 - 1 tablespoon honey (optional)
07 - Fresh thyme sprigs (for decoration)

# How To Make:

01 - Place dark cherries, plum wedges, and purple grapes on a large serving platter, grouping each fruit separately for visual appeal.
02 - Position slices or crumbles of black-ashed goat cheese alongside the arranged fruit.
03 - If desired, sprinkle toasted walnuts over the platter and drizzle honey lightly for added sweetness.
04 - Garnish with fresh thyme sprigs to enhance presentation.
05 - Serve immediately, allowing guests to create personalized fruit and cheese pairings.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • No cooking required means you can pull this together in the time it takes someone to uncork a bottle.
  • The tartness of the goat cheese plays against the natural sweetness of ripe fruit in a way that feels unexpectedly sophisticated.
  • It's elegant enough for company but casual enough to make on a Tuesday night when you want something more interesting than crackers and cheese.
02 -
  • Temperature matters more than you'd think—take the cheese out of the fridge about 10 minutes before serving so it softens just enough to spread beautifully but stays structured.
  • If your grapes are watery or your plums feel hard, your whole platter will taste underwhelming, so spend a moment choosing fruit that actually smells and tastes like something.
03 -
  • Buy your cheese from a good cheesemonger if you can; they'll let you taste it and can tell you exactly when it was made and how it's best served.
  • If you're making this ahead, keep the fruit separate from the board and assemble it no more than an hour before guests arrive so nothing gets weepy or oxidized.
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