Bring milk and sugar to the boil. Slowly stir in the semolina, stirring continuously. Leave to swell for five minutes over a low heat. Finely chop the walnuts. Add almonds and walnuts to the semolina.
Bring jam and two tablespoons of water to the boil and pass through a sieve. Fold the candied fruit into the jam, except for some for decoration. Put semolina pudding and candied fruit in layers in a high, greased casserole dish (1 1/2 litre capacity).
The last layer should be semolina. Finely crumble the vanilla wafers and spread them on the semolina casserole. Bake the casserole in a preheated oven (electric: 175 °C/ gas: level 2) for about 30 minutes until the surface is golden brown.
Decorate with the remaining candied fruit, cherries and almonds.