Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan and cook over medium heat on the stovetop, stirring often. Bring the mixture to a simmer and continue to cook and stir about 10 minutes until the mixture thickens or reduces.
Cool slightly and then pour compote into a food processor and pulse about 5-6 times to chop up the cherries. Alternatively, after cooling slightly place an immersion blender into the sauce pan and pulse a few times to chop cherries. And yet another way, strain cherries from liquid and roughly chop by hand and add back to the cherry liquid and combine together. However you do it, what you are wanting is a chopped cherry compote.
To make the whipped cream
Sprinkle your gelatin over the water and let sit for 5 minutes until it blooms. Melt gelatin for 8 seconds in the microwave. You can tell gelatin is melted when you cannot see any granules of gelatin anymore. So if after 8 seconds you can still see granules, continue to microwave for 3 seconds at a time until it is all melted. When it is all dissolved, add one extra teaspoon of heavy cream to the gelatin and stir it in.
In a cold mixing bowl, whip your heavy for 15 seconds on medium speed until it starts to foam up. Add in your tiny amount of powdered sugar and keep mixing on medium speed until the whipped cream is just starting to have some peaks. Now with your mixer on low, drizzle in your gelatin. Turn the mixer back up to medium speed until your peaks are firm and holding their shape. Now this is important - don't overmix! I promise you that if you do because you think you are making it stiffer, you will end up with butter. Whipped cream can turn into whipped butter in a heartbeat and once it does, you can never go back.