Winter cherry fool

-a can of sour cherries packed in water
-1 Tablespoon Demerara sugar, more or less
-2 Tablespoons, more or less to taste, tawny Port.
-1 cup heavy whipping cream
-about ¼ teaspoon sugar.

1. Drain the cherries ruthlessly and put them in a heavy pot over medium heat with the sugar and port.
2. Cook the mixture until the cherries soften and the liquid thickens.
3. Mash some of the cherries against the side of the pot to vary the texture of the fruit and let it cool.
4. Whip the cream with the sugar until it just begins to stiffen, then fold in the cherry mixture.
5. Spoon the fool into four glasses, chill and serve.

Note:

-The Oregon Fruit Products Company is a good producer of unsugared canned tart cherries.

A note on Whisky Prunes:

-It also is a good time to lay down some whisky prunes. Get a jar, put some pitted prunes in it and cover them, just, with Scotch or Bourbon. Seal it up and lodge it in the proverbial cool dark place. You nee not use the best single malt or small batch, but do use something decent like Dalmore cigar malt (to stand up to the prunes) or Maker’s Mark (superb value for money). Let the prunes bathe for about a month before snacking on them with a drink instead of dessert. If the prunes marinate for too long they devolve into a kind of jam, which itself is good spread on toast, oatcakes or digestives.