This cake is decorated in chocolate leaves that look fabulous but are easy to make.

Ingredients: (Serves 10-12)

• 4 eggs
• 115 g/4 oz plain flour, sifted
• 85 g/3 oz plain flour, sifted
• 28 g/1 oz cocoa powder, sifted
• 3 tablespoons Kirsch or Framboise
• 340 g/12 oz white chocolate, broken into pieces
• 115 g/4 oz plain chocolate, broken into pieces
• 15-20 washed rose leaves
• 570 ml/1 pint double cream
• 400 g/14 oz tin red cherry pie filling
• Icing sugar to dust
• Fresh mint leaves, to decorate

Method:

Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF/Gas mark 5. Grease and line a 20-cm/8-inch deep tart tin with a removable base. Put the eggs and caster sugar in a bowl and beat until pale and smooth. Add the flour and cocoa and fold in gently.

Spoon into the prepared tin and cook for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the cake springs back when pressed with the fingertips. Set the tin on a wire rack to cool. Slice horizontally into 4 equal slices, drizzle a little Kirsch over each slice and set aside. Melt the white chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water.

Spread the white chocolate onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and allow to set. Using a sharp knife, draw the blade, at an angle across the white chocolate to form curls and ruffles.

Place the plain chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. When melted, paint the chocolate thickly on the underside of each rose leaf and allow to set. Beat the cream with an electric whisk until soft peaks form. Spoon ¼ into a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle and set 2 tablespoons of cherry pie filling aside.

Sandwich the cake slices together with two third the remaining cream and the rest of the cherry pie filling. Stand the cake on a dinner plate and spread the remaining one third of the cream round the sides.

Pat the white chocolate curls over the cream to cover completely and pipe rosettes of cream round the top of the cake. Spoon a little pie filling over each. Carefully peel away the rose leaves from the chocolate shapes. Decorate the cake with the chocolate leaves and mint leaves and dust with icing sugar just before serving. Chill in the refrigerator until required. This cake is best eaten on the same day.