More ways with cherries

Old-fashioned cherry pie with amaretto whipped cream

Line a tart tin with a pre-rolled sheet of shortcrust pastry and scatter with ground almonds. In a separate bowl, mix together 2 generous handfuls of halved and stoned cherries with a few tablespoons of sugar and a tablespoon of cornflour and pour into the tart tin. Top the tart with a second sheet of pastry, either plain or decoratively in plaits, brush with beaten egg and bake for about 35 minutes in a moderately hot oven. Serve with whipped cream, laced with a little amaretto and icing sugar.

Coconut panna cotta with cherries

To make the panna cotta, heat 400ml coconut milk and 300ml double cream to a near boil, then add a teaspoon of vanilla-bean paste and 100g caster sugar. Spoon a couple of tablespoons of the hot mixture into a bowl and mix in 2 x 12g sachets of powdered gelatine, before returning to the rest of the milk in the saucepan, stirring well and pouring into moulds. Halve and stone 200g cherries and cook with a scattering of caster sugar until the liquid looks syrupy, then serve the panna cotta with the cherries on the side and some almond biscotti.

Cherry ice-cream sodas

(above) Allow a tub of vanilla ice cream to melt until half soft, stir some cherry essence and freshly chopped halved and stoned cherries through it, then freeze it again. To serve, pour Coca-cola into some glasses and top each with a scoop.