PLAIN ROSETTES RECIPES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4. Lightly grease two 23cm/9in cake tins and line the base with greased non-stick baking parchment.
• Break the eggs into a mixing bowl, add the sugar and whisk until the mixture is pale and thick enough to leave a trail when the whisk is lifted out of the bowl. Carefully fold in the sifted flour and cocoa powder. Turn the mixture into the prepared tins.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the sponges are well risen and beginning to shrink away from the sides of the tin. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool and peel off the parchment.
• For the filling, drain the jars of cherries, reserving the juice. Chop the cherries roughly into quarters. Measure the cornflour into a small saucepan, make a paste with a small amount of the reserved juice, then stir in the remaining juice. Place over a medium heat and bring slowly to the boil, stirring until thickened, then simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the cherries and leave to cool. Refrigerate until quite firm.
• For the decoration, melt the white and plain chocolate in 2 separate bowls set over 2 pans of gently simmering water. Dip 12 of the fresh cherries into the plain chocolate and leave to set on a sheet of non-stick baking parchment. Dip the remaining 12 fresh cherries into the white chocolate and leave to set. Spoon the remaining melted chocolate into 2 separate disposable piping bags.
• Draw a credit card size rectangle on a piece of paper and position it vertically. Draw a tree within the rectangle to use as a template. Lay a sheet of non-stick parchment paper over the template. Snip off the tip of the plain chocolate piping bag (start with a very small tip). Pipe 12 (plus a few spare in case they break) chocolate tree shapes onto the non-stick parchment. Leave to harden and set.
• When the chocolate on the cherries has set, snip the end of the white chocolate piping bag and pipe thin lines of white chocolate over the plain chocolate dipped cherries. Pipe thin lines of plain chocolate over the white chocolate dipped cherries. Leave to set.
• Whip the cream to soft peaks. Divide the cream in half, setting aside one half for the sides and top of the cake.
• Cut each sponge into 2 layers using a long sharp knife. Divide the cherry mixture into thirds. Spread one third of the cherry mix over the sliced sponge. Divide one half of the cream into thirds and spread one third over the cherry mix. Top with another sponge layer and continue until you have three layers of cherries and cream. Top with the final sponge layer.
• Spread half of the reserved whipped cream around the sides of the cake and cover with the chocolate trees. With the remaining reserved cream, pipe rosettes of cream around the top edge of the cake and decorate with the chocolate dipped cherries.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 190°C/375F/Gas 5. Grease 2 x 20cm/8 in loose-based sandwich tins and line the bases with baking parchment.
• Put the butter, sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and eggs into a food processor and blend until smooth and thick. You may need push the mixture down from the sides a couple of times to make sure the mixture is well blended.
• Divide the batter between the prepared cake tins and spread it out evenly with a rubber spatula.
• Bake for 22–25 minutes or until the cakes are nicely risen and just beginning to shrink away from the sides of the tins. Remove them from the oven and cool for 5 minutes before turning out on to a wire rack. Take off the lining paper and leave the cakes to cool.
• When the cakes are cold, cut them in half, horizontally, with a long-bladed serrated knife. Take care to keep the knife parallel to the work surface, to get a good even cut. Place the cakes back on the wire rack or a board, cut sides up.
• For the filling, put the jam in a saucepan with the sour cherries and Kirsch and place over a low heat. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 6–8 minutes, stirring, until the jam has melted and the cherries are beginning to swell. Leave to cool for 15 minutes.
• Sprinkle the cherry brandy over the chocolate sponges, then spread three of them with the sour cherry mixture and leave to cool. Make sure that the sponge without the cherry topping is from the top half of a cake.
• Whip 300ml/10fl oz of the cream with an electric hand-whisk until soft peaks form.
• Transfer one of the sponges (with the cherry topping) very carefully to a cake stand or plate – slide a cake tin base under the sponge to help you. Using a couple of pudding spoons, dollop about a third of the whipped cream gently on top of the cherry mixture. There is no need to spread it out, but try to keep the spoonfuls evenly spaced over the cake. Sprinkle with a little of the grated chocolate.
• Top with another sponge and repeat the layers twice more. You should end up with three layers of sponge, cherries, cream and chocolate. Place the final sponge on top, with its top surface facing upwards.
• Whip the remaining 200ml/8fl oz of the cream with an electric hand-whisk until soft peaks form.
• Using the flat side of a palette knife, spread about three tablespoons of the cream over the top of the cake, taking it all the way to the edge. Spoon the remaining cream into a piping bag fitted with a large, plain nozzle and pipe rosettes around the edge of the cake. Tip almost all the remaining grated chocolate into the centre and sprinkle the rest over the rosettes.
• Decorate with fresh cherries if you have some. Keep the cake cool or chill until ready to serve.
• It’s best to eat it the same day as it is made – how could you resist? – but if you need to make the cake in advance, chill it in the fridge for up to 24 hours and allow to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.