Black forest trifle

For the compote, place the cherries, juice and vanilla pod in a frying pan and gently heat.

Slowly add the sugar, allowing it to melt and to coat the cherries. Add the kirsch and remove from the heat. Allow the mixture to cool. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

For the cocoa sponge, whisk the eggs and sugar until light, fluffy and triple the original volume.

Heat the milk and butter and add the cocoa powder.

Sieve the flour and baking powder. Once the milk is heated, alternate folding in the flour and milk mixture to the egg mixture.

Spread the mixture onto a 2cm deep greased and lined baking tray, and bake until firm and spongy, about 10 minutes. Allow to cool before turning out and cutting into cubes.

To make the kirsch cream, melt the chocolate in a double boiler, stirring occasionally.

Whip the cream to soft runny peaks, adding the kirsch. Add a little cream to the chocolate to temper (mixing the mixture until smooth). Add the rest of the cream to the mixture – do not overmix as this will result in a grainy texture.

For the cream, melt the chocolate over a double boiler. Whip the cream to soft runny peaks. Mix a little fresh cream into the chocolate and then fold in the rest. Don’t over-mix as this will result in a grainy texture.

To assemble, place the cherry compote at the bottom of 4 glasses, then spoon in the cream, adding the cut pieces of cocoa sponge – it’s advised to use the juice from the cherry compote for soaking the sponge. Add more cherries and finish off with the kirsch cream. Chocolate shavings can be placed on top. To garnish, dust with cocoa or icing sugar.