RIP hershey’s cherry blossoms!!
this candy sent me into an existential tailspin. let’s talk about it!!
These f*cking cherry blossoms have lived rent free in my mind for almost a week now.
The recipe part was easy, but this is the third time I’ve sat down to write (or rather, rewrite) this newsletter. The first version touched on the banality that the discontinuation of a bonbon could take over Canadian media in the midst of so much other capital-n-News. The second approached it from a food nostalgia POV, surely the only explanation for why people would be buying out grocery stores to stock up, hoarding tendencies or doomsday beliefs aside. Two complete drafts, but neither felt like “it”. So here we are, version 3.0. and candy still on the brain.
Let’s be honest: Cherry Blossoms are not very good–even people who love them would probably agree. It isn’t surprising that Hershey made the call to halt production, and yet people were incensed. It was (and still is) a top headline.
Let’s unpack how it all went down, shall we?
A Canadian product, Cherry Blossoms were first produced in the 1890s by the Walter M. Lowney Company out of Sherbrooke, Quebec. The Lowney brand was acquired by Hershey Canada in 1989, and production was moved to a facility in Smiths Falls, Ontario which would eventually close in 2012, shifting all production to the U.S.–the beginning of the end for our protagonist.
This I know to be true: if you care to take a closer look at what’s going on in the world, the food and beverage industry is a great lens to peer through. So Hershey decides to discontinue a low selling kinda sh*tty chocolate bar? No biggie! But when you put it in the context of everything else going on in conjunction (I’m talking tariffs, I’m talking 51st state…), you have to wonder what this could all mean for Canadian products and food manufacturing on a broader scale. What’s next? A moratorium on Nanaimo bars? I swear, if they come for ketchup chips, we ride at dawn.
While I don’t have the answer, I do have a recipe. It calls for good chocolate, salty peanuts (salty > unsalty as a rule of thumb), shredded coconut, and a maraschino white chocolate ganache to replace the saccharine-but-otherwise-unidentifiable syrup of the original1. A warning: this is a project. Tempering chocolate is an all-consuming task, yes, but it may be the welcome distraction you need these days. Bonus nostalgia points if you pack it in a yellow box.
Normally, my recipes are available to paid subscribers only (thanks mom and dad!), but hi! I’m sentimental! I want to see these fallen Blossoms get their flowers :) and the legacy to live on. I hope you make these at home, or at the very least crack into a bag of ketchup chips.
RIP Cherry Blossoms, you went out with a bang!
1890-2025
hershey’s cherry blossoms, hacked!!
A note, before we begin: I wanted these to be as home kitchen-friendly as possible. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: nothing with a maraschino cherry should be taken too seriously. Would chocolatiers spray or line their chocolate molds? Hell no. But we’re using a muffin tin, and is there anything worse than when something sticks to the pan?
for the cherry blossom center:
6-12 maraschino cherries, patted dry with a paper towel
maraschino white chocolate ganache
225g white chocolate, chopped finely
155g cream
90g maraschino liquid (from the jar of cherries)
In a small pot over medium high heat, bring the cream & maraschino liquid to a near boil, stirring frequently. Pour over the chopped white chocolate, let sit for a couple of minutes, then stir to combine. Use an immersion blender or hand mixer to fully emulsify.
Lightly spray six inserts of a mini muffin pan or small ice cube tray. Place 1-2 maraschino cherries in each, and fill the insert with ganache.* Freeze until set, at least four hours and ideally overnight. Once fully set, remove the frozen cherry centres from the tin and keep frozen until ready to use.
*This ganache is looser than the average and you’ll have plenty leftover. I suggest you pour it over ice cream.
for the chocolate exterior:
500g milk chocolate
- 300g broken into pieces
- 200g finely chopped
a generous handful of salted peanuts, chopped finely (to taste)
roughly 1 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut (to taste)
Combine peanuts and coconut and chop finely, or pulse in a food processor. Set aside.
Lightly spray (or line with cupcake liners) six inserts of a regular size muffin pan (or similar sized mold). Set aside.
Here’s where things get a little spicy:
Temper your chocolate using the seed method*:
Over a hot bain-marie, or in the microwave, melt 300g of the chocolate (broken into pieces) to 40C. Be careful to not go over. Add the remaining 200g chocolate (finely chopped) and stir to combine until all pieces are melted and the mixture has cooled to 27C. Stir in the peanuts & coconut.
Pull your cherry centres from the freezer.
Working quickly, spoon roughly 1 tablespoon of chocolate into each prepared insert. Tap the pan on the counter to distribute evenly. If your chocolate is properly tempered, it should start to set quickly. If it doesn’t, c’est la vie, this is why we sprayed the inserts, toss your pan in the fridge for a couple minutes.
Once the bottom layer is set, place a cherry centre in each insert, and fill the rest of the insert with chocolate (using a piping bag is helpful here, but you can just go for it with a spoon). Again, tap the pan to distribute and level the chocolate, finishing with a small offset spatula.
Set aside until chocolate is fully set. This may happen quickly, but don’t rush it. Gently tap out the chocolate from the pan, or use a pairing knife to help pop ‘em out. Wait a while longer to be sure your ganache centre has melted to a lovely, loose consistency. Enjoy!!
*Or just don’t bother tempering your chocolate. Seriously. You could just melt it all, temperatures be damned, and let it set in the fridge. That works too. The only downside here is that your chocolate won’t be as stable at room temperature, so you’ll have to store it in the fridge or freezer. Not a dealbreaker for you? Don’t risk losing your temper :) and skip it altogether.
FYI: no syrup is injected inside the chocolate. The cherry candy is coated with an enzyme, invertase, that breaks down the solid into a liquid over the course of a couple weeks. Weird/cool.