Recipe for Pomegranate and Sour Cherry Mandelbrot

Once the province of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cooking, pomegranate molasses recently has found its way onto television and into a growing number of supermarkets.

The thick, garnet purple syrup made by boiling down the fruit's bright red kernels packs all the pomegranate's punch but none of its hassles. Sometimes called pomegranate concentrate, it's a tart go-to item for glazes, marinades, salad dressings, even baking.

It's also a convenient way to include the pomegranate's symbolism - and flavour - in holiday celebrations. In Judaism, the pomegranate is sometimes said to have 613 seeds, representing the mitzvahs of the Torah and making it a symbol of righteousness. The fruit is an integral part of celebrating Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year that arrives Sept. 18.

But many people find digging the seeds from the fruit a bother.

"As a seeded fruit it's problematic, but if you use the syrup then you've got an ingredient that brings you the theme flavour and the theme fruit," says Marcy Goldman, an expert on Jewish baking. "You only need a little to go a long way in recipes. It's a very emphatic flavour."

And one that may make it the new balsamic for fashionable cooks. Television barbecue guru Bobby Flay glazes turkey with it. Food Network celebrity Alton Brown even has a recipe for making it at home.

Cortas Canning&Refrigerating, a Beirut-based producer of pomegranate molasses, has seen its North American business double during the last five years, with sales of about 70,000 300-ml bottles in 2008, says Cortas USA spokeswoman Linda Cortas.

Even more is sold to manufacturers who buy it in 95-litre containers for ice cream and other products, she says. The family-run company makes its molasses with fresh pomegranates, and Cortas says the surge in demand has sometimes cleaned out supply before the new pomegranate season arrives.

"Five years ago we started running out before the new season," Cortas says. "We've upped it every year by 10 or 20 per cent and we still get very close to running out before the new season."

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POMEGRANATE AND SOUR CHERRY MANDELBROT

Start to finish: 1 hour 15 minutes (15 minutes active)

Makes 2 dozen

125 ml ( 1/2 cup) vegetable oil

50 ml ( 1/4 cup) pomegranate molasses

45 ml (3 tbsp) honey

250 ml (1 cup) sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla extract

3 eggs, lightly beaten

750 ml (3 cups) all-purpose flour

8 ml (1 3/4 tsp) baking powder

1 ml ( 1/4 tsp) salt

1 ml ( 1/4 tsp) cinnamon

250 ml (1 cup) walnut halves

175 ml (3/4 cup) dried sour cherries, plumped in warm water, then drained and dried

1 egg white, beaten

Heat the oven to 160 C (325 F). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, Whisk together the oil, pomegranate molasses, honey, sugar and vanilla. Whisk in the beaten whole eggs. Stir in the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, walnut halves and dried cherries.

Spoon out 2 rows of the dough about 20-by-8 centimetres wide. Brush the top with the egg white, then sprinkle with sugar.

Bake until the top of the dough seems firm and dry, about 25 to 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and reduce heat to 150 C (300 F).