Surely Paul could have made the gospel more palatable – and less dangerous – by saying it was about something else. Something cleaner and less ridiculous than the cross. Something more glorious. Less disgusting. He didn’t do that, though. “I decided,” Paul said, “to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2). In the face of the worst cultural prejudice imaginable, he fixed the entire gospel squarely and immovably on the fact that Jesus was tacked to a stauros and left to die. If he had been trying to find a surefire way to turn first-century people off from his “good news,” he couldn’t have done better than that! So why did he do it? It’s simple. He did it because he knew that leaving the cross out, or running past it with a glance, or making it peripheral to the gospel, or allowing anything else to displace it at the center of the gospel would make it, finally, no gospel at all.

Greg Gilbert

CATEGORY	CUISINE	TAG	YIELD
Dairy, Eggs		Pie	10	Servings

INGREDIENTS

1	lb	Frozen unsweetened cherries; thawed
1/4	c	Kirsch
1/4	c	(about) morello cherry syrup (available at specialty foods stores) or sour cherry syrup
8 1/2	oz	Chocolate wafer cookies
6	tb	Well-chilled butter; cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 1/2	c	Whipping cream
12	oz	Semisweet chocolate; coarsely chopped
16	oz	Cream cheese; room temperature
3/4	c	Sugar
4		Eggs; room temperature
1	ts	Vanilla
1	c	Whipping cream; well-chilled (I use heavy whipping cream)
2	tb	Sugar
1	tb	Kirsch
		Chocolate curls (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

CHERRY TOPPING
CHOCOLATE CRUST
CHOCOLATE FILLING
From: arielle@taronga.com (Stephanie da Silva)
Date: Wed, 4 Aug 93 22:29:33 CDT
For topping:  Soak undrained cherries and kirsch in small bowl 6 hours.
Thoroughly drain cherries in strainer set over medium bowl, shaking
occasionally, at least two hours.  Reserve liquid.  Add enough Morello
cherry syrup to cherry liquid to measure 1 cup. Pour 6 tablespoons into
heavy 8-inch skillet (reserve remaining liquid for filling). Halve cherries
and add to skillet. Boil until syrup is thickened and mixture resembles
preserves, about 6 minutes. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Chill.)
For crust:  Generously butter 9-inch springform pan.  Finely crush cookies
in processor, using on/off turns.  Cut in butter until mixture begins to
gather together, using on/off turns.  Press crumbs into bottom of pan and
up sides to 3/4 inch from top; there should be no cracks. Refrigerate crust
for at least 30 minutes.
For filling:  Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Heat 1 1/2 cups cream with
chocolate in heavy medium saucepan over low heat until chocolate melts,
stirring constantly.  Cool 10 minutes.
Beat cream cheese with 3/4 cup sugar until smooth.  Beat in eggs 1 at a
time until just combined. Beat in chocolate mixture, then remaining 10
tablespoons cherry liquid and vanilla. Pour into crust. Bake until outer 2
inches of cake are firm but center still moves slightly, about 1 1/4 hours
(top may crack). Cool completely on rack. Top pan with paper towels and
cover tightly with foil. Refrigerate 1 to 2 days.
Remove foil, paper towels and pan sides from cake.  Spread cherry topping
over cake.  Beat remaining 1 cup cream with 2 tablespoons sugar and kirsch
to peaks. Spoon into center of cake. Top with chocolate curls if desired.
(Can be prepared 2 hours ahead and refrigerated.) Let stand at room
temperature for 15 minutes before serving.
REC.FOOD.RECIPES ARCHIVES
/DESSERTS
From rec.food.cooking archives.  Downloaded from Glen's MM Recipe Archive,
http://www.erols.com/hosey.

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