Chocolate flavour without a chocolate milkshake
Cocoa brings a bitter edge that makes sweet cherries taste more pronounced. The result is a fruit smoothie with chocolate notes, not a thick ice-cream shake. Keeping the cocoa to two teaspoons is important: an extra heaped spoon can overwhelm the cherries and leave a dry, dusty finish.
Use sweet eating cherries rather than sour cherries intended for cooking. Their ripeness matters more than their colour, although darker cherries usually create a deeper-looking drink. The banana supplies body and softens the cocoa bitterness. Its flavour should remain in the background, which is why this recipe does not use a whole large banana per glass.
Check every stone
A cherry stone is not something to ask a blender to deal with. Even when using a pitter, check each cherry because a stone can occasionally stay in the fruit or split. Frozen pitted cherries still deserve a quick inspection and should be used according to the package's preparation instructions. Choose fruit suitable for eating without cooking.
Making a cocoa paste first prevents powder sticking to the lid or floating in dry pockets. The small extra step is more effective than simply running the blender longer. If the smoothie tastes bitter, add a little more ripe banana or use sweeter cherries next time; adding more cocoa will not make the flavour richer in a useful way.
An easy check for an even cocoa mixture
After the first blend, switch off and look just above the liquid line. Cocoa paste or yoghurt sometimes sticks there, particularly in a wide jug. Scrape it into the drink with a spatula, replace the lid and blend briefly again. This is more reliable than assuming a uniformly brown surface means every ingredient has been incorporated.
If serving two glasses, pour a little into each in turn rather than filling one completely before the other. Any slightly thicker fruit mixture near the bottom will then be shared more evenly. The drink does not need grated chocolate to demonstrate its chocolate flavour; adding a topping also changes the ingredients and may introduce milk into a version made with plant alternatives.
What you'll need
- 200 g fresh sweet cherries, pitted
- 100 g peeled banana, chilled
- 130 g plain yoghurt
- 120 ml cold milk
- 2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
Let's make it
- Pit the washed cherries one at a time, checking the flesh as you go. Weigh them after removing the stones.
- Mix the cocoa with two tablespoons of the measured milk to form a smooth paste. Put this in the blender with the remaining milk and yoghurt.
- Add cherries, banana and vanilla. Blend until the fruit is broken down and no dry cocoa remains on the jug.
- Taste, then pour into two glasses. Serve without a chocolate sauce topping so the cherry flavour stays distinct.
Make it your own
Use oat drink and a plain plant-based yoghurt for a non-dairy version, checking labels and cross-contact information.
For a stronger cherry flavour, replace 30 g of the banana with extra cherries rather than increasing both fruit quantities.
Keeping it fresh
Drink fresh for the clearest cherry flavour. Cover and refrigerate unserved smoothie promptly at 5°C or below and use within 24 hours, or sooner if an ingredient requires it. Stir any settled cocoa back in.
Allergen notes
Milk
