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.

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 ...

Chapter XIV – more drizzles

Then there's :

Cherry and Raspberry Compote

350g cherries, stoned – can use frozen

150g caster sugar

juice of 1 lemon (2 tbsps)

150g raspberries – can use frozen

4 tbsp water or juice from defrosted fruit

Pour the water into a pan and add the cherries, sugar and lemon juice. Place on a medium heat and stir until the sugar dissolves. Cook the cherries over a low heat for 5-10 minutes until they have released some juice but are not overcooked. If you are using frozen cherries you will have the fruit juices when defrosted – use this juice instead of the water and reduce the cooking time to 5 minutes.

Add the raspberries to the pan and cook for a further 1-2 minutes until they start to soften. Remove the pan from the heat and leave the mixture to cool, then blitz the compote and pass through a sieve. You'll get 400ml. Chill before serving or divide and freeze a portion for another day.

Or you might like :

Strawberry compote

500g ripe strawberries, hulled

4 tbsp caster sugar

2 tbsp lemon juice

Cut the strawberries in half – or quarters if large – place in a large saucepan with the sugar and lemon juice. Heat gently until the sugar has dissolved and then simmer. Cover and cook for 3/5 minutes until dark in colour and syrupy. Compote can be store in fridge for up to 2 weeks. Again you can split the batch into two and freeze one for a rainy day.

If you prefer a smooth compote blitz and pass through a sieve.

As you can see it's not a difficult recipe, hulling the berries, i.e. removing the green leaf on the top and the stalk below, takes a little time but it's worth every second. You can buy a kitchen implement to do the job if you wish but using a paring knife and cutting in a circular motion – carefully - it'll do the job just as well.

Finally!

Raspberry Coulis

200g raspberries

200g strawberries, hulled and halved

75g icing sugar, sifted

Heat the fruit in a large pan for 4-5 minutes or until the fruit starts to break down. Add the icing sugar and continue to cook the fruit for a further 2-3 minutes or until the sugar has dissolved.

Transfer the mixture to a food processor and blend until smooth, add a splash of water if necessary to loosen the coulis. Strain through a sieve pushing the fruit through with the back of a spoon and set aside to cool. Fridge until needed.

Actually you could call the coulis either raspberry or strawberry since it contains equal amounts of both.

Phew, I think that's just about it!

Chapter XII – alternatives and the extras!

You could make a quick, soft set cherry jam – another alternative for you to use in your Cherry and Chocolate Hodgepodge!

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”.

Cherry Thursday

4x23g Amaretti biscuits

2 dollops of cherry jam – reserve a small spoonful

to decorate

drizzle of cherry compote

2 scoops of vanilla ice cream

Chocolate Sauce for drizzling

Sprinkle half your Amaretti biscuits into the bottom of the glass. Drizzle with cherry compote, add a dollop of cherry jam. Add one scoop of ice cream. Repeat. Top with the warm chocolate sauce and top with a small spoonful of jam.

50g dark chocolate 70% cocoa solids

25g unsalted butter

125ml double cream

1 tbsp caster sugar

Melt the chocolate in a bain marie (in a bowl over a pan of simmering water, not touching the bowl). Heat the rest of the ingredients in a small saucepan. Remove from the heat and stir through the melted chocolate. Drizzle, warm, over your Cherry Thursday.

Another thoroughly reliable “old faithful” sweet treat!

Rocky Road

250g dark chocolate

150g milk chocolate

175g soft butter, unsalted

4 x 15ml tbsp golden syrup

200g hobnobs

*150g shelled Brazil nuts

*150g red glace cherries

*125g mini marshmallows

Put the biscuits into a freezer bag and roll with a rolling pin until you get a mixture of rubble.

Chop the Brazil nuts into different sizes.

Chop both sorts of chocolate into small pieces, or use chocolate buttons made for melting and then put them into a heavy-based saucepan to melt with the butter and syrup over a gentle heat.

Take the pan off the heat and add the biscuit and nuts, cherries and mini marshmallows. Turn carefully so that all the ingredients are coated with the syrupy chocolate.

Tip into a foil try (I use a tray bake 31x19x3.5cms/12½x7½x1¼”), smoothing the top as best you can, although it is meant to be lumpy.

Refrigerate until firm enough to cut, which will take about 1½-2 hours although it doesn't matter if you get sidetracked and leave it longer. Take the set block out of the tray. With the long side in front of you cut in half – set aside the other for the moment. Cut into 8 strips and then across – you are aiming to cut into 2cm/1” squares – there's no need to stress – approximately will do. If you manage to cut 2cm/1” you'll get 92 squares per half, 184 in total.

You can make the Rocky Road into whatever shape you want - cut into bars or squares. Store in an airtight container in a cool place for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 1 month.

This is the basic Rocky Road recipe. If you really want to push the boat out you can make it festive and use crispy Amaretti biscuits, crushed instead of the hobnobs.

If you'd like to personalise it design a version of Rocky Road as a special gift for a special person.

The three ingredients marked “*” can be swapped to suit.

If you want something different then check out the “Design your own Rocky Road” sheet up next for some more ideas.

Design your own Rocky Road

Traditionally Rocky Road is made using Brazil nuts,

glacé cherries and marshmallow.

Rules are meant to be broken - take a look at the

list below and if you'd like to design your own

Rocky Road swap any or all of the three

ingredients in the original recipe for the

same weight

(or may be four if you want to stay true

to Rocky Road and include the mini marshmallows)

Cashew

Peanut

Pistachio

Pecan

Hazelnut

Glacé cherry

Dried sour cherries

Cranberry

Apricot

Banana chips

Pineapple

Sultanas

Nougat

Turkish Delight

Fudge

Toblerone

Praline

Salted Caramel

Mini Marshmallow

Popping Candy

My latest versions are :

Pecans with dark cherries and vanilla fudge

Pistachios, apricots and Turkish Delight

Hmm, an idea for a Christmas gift?

Something for everyone!

Chapter XI – what to do with your sweet stash

Never let it be said that I don't give you alternatives – here are variations of “a Hodgepodge”

… aka a mess – think of Eton Mess – the world is your meringue, fly by the seat of your pants!

I just love to be able to pull ingredients for a speedy sweet straight from the store cupboard/pantry and freezer and serve a dessert worthy of the extra calories! What follows is a series of recipe ideas and variations - elements of which you've already made ahead and are part of your store cupboard and freezer!

Without further ado :

Hazelnut Hodgepodge

Serves 1

3 meringue kisses, crushed

1 scoop of vanilla ice cream

A sprinkle of toasted, chopped hazelnuts – 25g approx

30g fresh or frozen raspberries (defrosted) - do not sweeten

1 tbsp sticky toffee sauce – loosen in microwave for

15 secs on medium

Assembly

A glass bowl or sundae dish makes this

dessert stand out, layer as follows :

crushed kisses

scoop of ice cream

sprinkle of hazelnuts

raspberries but reserve the juices

drizzle of sticky toffee sauce

drizzle of raspberry juices

Add a final sprinkle of hazelnuts

Then there's take 2 :

Cherry and Chocolate Hodgepodge

Serves 1

1 410g tin 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.

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)

In the photos below I used tiny pieces of Rocky Road.

Add another dessert spoon of cherries. With the juices reserved add a drop of water to loosen – loose enough to be able to drizzle over the top of the cherries.

You'll have cherries and 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!

You don't have to use cherry pie filling – I used Dark Sweet Cherries which I get from Sainsbury's and come in 450g bags at £2.30. You can use fresh cherries if you wish but their season is short and they are expensive. If you use fresh cherries then you'll need more juice. You can get cartons of cherry juice from either Waitrose or M&S.

OR

You could make a quick, soft set cherry jam!

For alternatives and extras … read on

Editor's Pick #4: Finally Cherry Tiramisu

Editor's note: They say that tastes change as you get older, which might explain why I keep thinking about this recipe. I used to not be the biggest fan of cherries but as I was reading through dessert recipes, something clicked and now the flavours and ingredients together are really appealing to me! If you go all out with your shopping list, this has the potential to be a real show-stopper. The combination of sweetness, tartness, the biscuit crumb, the sponge, all coming together ... must dash, need to go shopping!

Cherry Tiramisu

8 tablespoons of cherry juice (100ml)

20fl oz whipping cream/1 pint/570ml (heavy)

4tbls cherry liqueur - Kirsch (optional)

one red velvet cup cake per serving

4tbls caster sugar

225g/8oz Mascarpone or curd cheese (Philadelphia)

4 Amaretti biscuits, crushed to a crumb

50g/2oz plain chocolate (grated) or

a cherry liqueur chocolate to decorate

Cherry compote

Red velvet sponge – see notes below

Cherry and Raspberry Compote

350g cherries, stoned – can use frozen

150g caster sugar

juice of 1 lemon (2 tbsps)

150g raspberries – can use frozen

4 tbsp water or juice from defrosted fruit

Pour the water into a pan and add the cherries, sugar and lemon juice. Place on a medium heat and stir until the sugar dissolves. Cook the cherries over a low heat for 5-10 minutes until they have released some juice but are not overcooked. If you are using frozen cherries you will have the fruit juices when defrosted – use this juice instead of the water and reduce the cooking time to 5 minutes.

Add the raspberries to the pan and cook for a further 1-2 minutes until they start to soften. Remove the pan from the heat and leave the mixture to cool, then chill it well before serving. Blitz the compote and pass through a sieve. You'll get 400ml.

Mix the cherry juice with the Kirsch. If you're serving kiddies then omit the Kirsch and add an additional 4 tbsp of cherry juice.

Mix the cream carefully with the sugar and mascarpone. A small tip – place the mascarpone cheese in a mixing bowl and add the sugar. Once combined add the cream gradually. Fold 2 tablespoons of cherry compote into the mixture, gently, to give a ripple effect.

Cut up the cake in shapes that suit the bowl you are using and dip into the cherry mixture.

Layer the mascarpone mixture with the sponge.

Add your decorations when you are about to serve – sprinkle the Amaretti crumb and then add the grated plain chocolate or a cherry liqueur chocolate.

For extra pizzazz add a puddle of cherry compote. Freeze the compote you don't use along with any red velvet sponge you have left for another day!

You have options with the red velvet sponge. I made red velvet cupcakes and a batch gave me 24, far more than I needed, which was deliberate since I was able to either freeze what I didn't use or add frosting for a traditional cupcake.

There are “fast fixes” out there – most large supermarkets sell red velvet cake mixes which will usually give you 12 cupcakes or a 7” cake. Betty Crocker likewise.

Speed sweets … Hodgepodge take 2!

Never let it be said that I don't give you alternatives - here's another variation of Hodgepodge :

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.

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)

In the photos below I used tiny pieces of Rocky Road.

Add another dessert spoon of cherries. With the juices reserved add a drop of water to loosen – loose enough to be able to drizzle over the top of the cherries.

You'll have cherries and 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.

Hodgepodge again!

Dids – finally, cherry

Cherry Tiramisu

8 tablespoons of cherry juice (100ml)

20fl oz whipping cream/1 pint/570ml (heavy)

4tbls cherry liqueur - Kirsch (optional)

one red velvet cup cake per serving

4tbls caster sugar

225g/8oz Mascarpone or curd cheese (Philadelphia)

4 Amaretti biscuits, crushed to a crumb

50g/2oz plain chocolate (grated) or

a cherry liqueur chocolate to decorate

Cherry compote

Red velvet sponge – see notes below

Cherry and Raspberry Compote

350g cherries, stoned – can use frozen

150g caster sugar

juice of 1 lemon (2 tbsps)

150g raspberries – can use frozen

4 tbsp water or juice from defrosted fruit

Pour the water into a pan and add the cherries, sugar and lemon juice. Place on a medium heat and stir until the sugar dissolves. Cook the cherries over a low heat for 5-10 minutes until they have released some juice but are not overcooked. If you are using frozen cherries you will have the fruit juices when defrosted – use this juice instead of the water and reduce the cooking time to 5 minutes.

Add the raspberries to the pan and cook for a further 1-2 minutes until they start to soften. Remove the pan from the heat and leave the mixture to cool, then chill it well before serving. Blitz the compote and pass through a sieve. You'll get 400ml.

Mix the cherry juice with the Kirsch. If you're serving kiddies then omit the Kirsch and add an additional 4 tbsp of cherry juice.

Mix the cream carefully with the sugar and mascarpone. A small tip – place the mascarpone cheese in a mixing bowl and add the sugar. Once combined add the cream gradually. Fold 2 tablespoons of cherry compote into the mixture, gently, to give a ripple effect.

Cut up the cake in shapes that suit the bowl you are using and dip into the cherry mixture.

Layer the mascarpone mixture with the sponge.

Add your decorations when you are about to serve – sprinkle the Amaretti crumb and then add the grated plain chocolate or a cherry liqueur chocolate.

For extra pizzazz add a puddle of cherry compote. Freeze the compote you don't use along with any red velvet sponge you have left for another day!

You have options with the red velvet sponge. I made red velvet cupcakes and a batch gave me 24, far more than I needed, which was deliberate since I was able to either freeze what I didn't use or add frosting for a traditional cupcake.

There are “fast fixes” out there – most large supermarkets sell red velvet cake mixes which will usually give you 12 cupcakes or a 7” cake. Betty Crocker likewise.

Hints and tips and the tiddy version of the tiramisu up next.