Finish a meal with a flourish.

Ingredients

• 600-700 grams cherries
• ½ cup sugar
• ¾ cup water
• 1-2 tblsp Amaretto
• 1 litre quality vanilla ice cream
• 1 cup roughly crushed nougat
• orange zest

Method

1. Wash and de-stem cherries. Place in a large frying pan, sprinkle over sugar and water. Simmer, stirring over a moderate heat for 7-8 minutes until cherries have softened, but are not mushy.
2. Stir in Amaretto. Transfer to a container, cover and chill.
3. Place the ice cream in the fridge for 15-20 minutes to soften a little. Stir in crushed nougat and return to the freezer.
4. Divide cherries and juice into 6 bowls and serve with scoops of nougat ice cream. Garnish with strips of orange zest.

Cooks Tips

- If fresh cherries are difficult to obtain dissolve the sugar in the water, bring to the boil and add frozen cherries, remove from heat, cover, cool then chill. Nougat can be purchased in delicatessens and good supermarkets.