Preheat oven to 175 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Put a couple of inches of water into a pan that will hold the bowl of your mixer without letting the bottom of the mixing bowl touch the water. Bring the water to a simmer. Combine the egg whites, granulated sugar, and cream of tartar in the bowl of your stand mixer. Place the mixing bowl over the simmering water and whisk the mixture until all the sugar is melted, about 2 minutes. Test by rubbing some of the mixture between your thumb and forefinger, it should not feel gritty.

Place the bowl into the mixer and start mixing at low speed. Gradually increase the speed to high and mix until the mixture is very thick, glossy and white, 10 minutes.

Spoon heaped tablespoons of the mixture onto the prepared pan spacing about 1 inch apart. A #40 ice cream scoop work really well for this. With a very small spoon or your thumb, make an indentation in the top of each meringue, large enough to fill with cream. Bake for 2 hours or until the meringues feel crisp and they peel off the parchment easily. Let cool.

Pour the cream into a clean mixing bowl and sift in the powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Beat until stiff peaks form.

Pat the cherries dry with paper towels.

Spoon or pie the cream into the cooled meringue and top with a cherries.