All about Black Forest Cake/Gateau/Gateaux/heaven

For the sponge:

butter, for greasing
9 eggs
9oz caster sugar
7½oz self-raising flour, sifted
1½oz cocoa powder

For the filling:

12oz (drained weight) jar morello cherries, drained, juice reserved (leave some cherries for decorating, optional)
as much Kirsch as you like (and can take)
tablespoon corn starch
1¼ pint double cream, whipped
dark chocolate shavings for decorating (optional)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease and line a deep 10½in springform cake tin.

2. For the sponge, crack the eggs into a mixing bowl, add the sugar and whisk well until light and fluffy and a ribbon-like trail forms when the whisk is removed. Gently fold in the sifted flour and the cocoa powder. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, transfer to the oven and bake for about 55 minutes, or until risen and cooked through. You can test by gently feeling the sponge. If it springs back after being pressed down, it's cooked. Turn out onto a wire rack and leave to cool.



3. For the filling, place the cherries into a bowl. Place the cherry juice from the jar into a pan and bring to a light boil. While the juice is heating, mix the corn starch with a little water in a small bowl to make a paste. When the cherry juice is boiling, add the starch paste to it until the consistency is jelly-like, then add the cherries, mix and leave to cool (look out for starch lumps, you may want to sift it before adding the cherries). You can either add the Kirsch to the cherries or to the cream, however you like. You can even use it to soak the sponge, which will make it nice and moist. You may wish to water the liqueur down a bit for that though, as it will not stretch very far otherwise).

4. Cut the cooled sponge into three layers using a sharp bread knife. Use the layer with the smoothest surface as top layer (this will usually turn the sponge upside down for this, using the bottom of the sponge). Using a piping bag (you can use any plastic bag with a medium sized hole cut off a corner) pipe a ring of cherries round the edge of the sponge and another ring closer to the middle. Fill another piping bag with whipped cream and fill the gaps up, then place the middle layer on top and repeat the process, leaving a bit of cream for decorating the cake. Place the third layer on top and press gently.

5. You can now decorate the cake however you want to. Traditionally you would cover the whole cake with cream and sprinkle chocolate shavings on top, then pipe nice blobs of cream round the edge of the cake with a piping bag and star tip and top each with a cherry.

6. Enjoy!