A variation on the theme!

 

Cherry and Chocolate Hodgepodge

Serves 1

1 410g can of Black Cherry pie filling with

fruit separated from juices

3 meringue kisses, crushed

25g of chocolate – see below

As with the previous Hodgepodge recipe a glass bowl or sundae dish is perfect for this dessert.

Tip the cherries into a sieve and let the juices drip through – this will take a while since they are dense – it's worth the wait.

OR instead you could make a quick, soft set cherry jam :

Cherry Jam

250g tinned black cherries, stoned

2 tbsps of arrowroot

2 tbsps Kirsch or Cherry Brandy - optional

4 tbsps maple syrup

Drain the tinned cherries – keep the syrup. Using a blender, blend half of the cherries with 120ml (4¼ fl oz) of the cherry syrup from the tin, arrowroot, 2 tbsps of Kirsch or Cherry Brandy and the maple syrup. Blend until smooth then pour into a saucepan, bring to the boil and let it reduce for 10 minutes until it becomes jam like. Pour into a bowl and leave to cool and thicken.

I'd not recommend using cornflour as a thickening agent – your jam will be cloudy. Arrowroot gives you a glossy jam.

By way of explanation, cornflour comes from corn and arrowroot from the roots of the plant of the same name. Cornflour makes the water opaque and arrowroot doesn't!

The “cherry jam” will not last for ever and has a “soft set”.

OR instead you could ...