There's more ...

... cherry alternatives and assembly ideas

OR instead you could invest in Frozen Dark Sweet Cherries – 450g Sainsbury's £2.50 or £2.00 with Nectar. Defrost and reserve the juices, thicken with arrowroot, heating gently and then cool and fold in the cherries – fridge until required.

Assemble with the meringues, add a dessert spoon of cherries then add tiny pieces of chocolate of your choice – the list is endless but here's an idea or five :

plain chocolate drops

crushed Maltesers

small pieces of Rocky Road

bash a crunchy (in its wrapper – so convenient, no bits

other than where you want them to be!)

bash a flake (in its wrapper)

Add another dessert spoon of cherries. Drizzle generously with the thickened juices.

You'll have cherries with the thickened juices left over but I can't believe this is going to be a problem. You could either repeat the dessert or use as a topping over ice cream. If you want a grown-up version, add a drop of Kirsch to the juices but don't tell anyone I said so!

P.s. An optional extra – add a scoop of chocolate ice cream in between the cherries. There's a thought.