Ingredients:
9 eggs
1½ cups caster sugar
¾ cup plain flour
¾ cup cocoa powder
1½ teaspoons baking powder
185g unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
3 tablespoons kirsch
For the filling:
600ml cream, whipped
1 tablespoon kirsch, extra
1 jar morello cherries
chocolate shavings to decorate
Method:
Preheat oven to 180°C (or 160°C fan forced). Grease and line a 22cm cake tin.
Beat eggs in a large bowl until thick. Gradually beat in the sugar.
Sift in the combined flour, cocoa and baking powder alternately with the butter. Fold through the vanilla essence. Pour into prepared pan and cook for 40 minutes or until firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and brush with the kirsch.
Cool slightly in the tin and turn out onto cooling rack. When cool slice into 3 even layers.
Whip together the cream and the extra kirsch.
Spread 1/3 of the cream over the top of one layer of cake. Sprinkle with the cherries. Top with another layer and top with some more cream and cherries. Place the final layer on top and cover with cream. Decorate with a few cherries and chocolate shavings.
