Schwarzwälder kirschtorte

Ingredients 120g caster sugar, 3 eggs, 100g self raising flour, 50g cocoa powder, 1 tsp baking powder, 1L double cream, 25g dark chocolate, 3 tbsp cherry jam, 4 tbsp kirschwasser liquid plus cherries to decorate.

Preparation: 1 hour

As part of the World Cup Food Challenge 2014, this recipe represents a traditional meal of Germany and my final recipe as they won last night!. Following my glorious adventures with Kirsch, I knew that my final dish for Germany would HAVE to be the iconic Black Forest Gateau. Chocolate and cherries are a marvellous combination and this simple chocolate sponge, laced with kirsch and smothered in cream to form a moist, trifly concoction is utterly moreish.

1)  Cream together 100g sugar and 100g butter using an electric whisk, then whisk through the cocoa powder and eggs, one egg at a time.

2) Add a tablespoon of the kirsch syrup and sift together the flour and baking powder. Whisk into the cake batter, then bake in a buttered tin for 35 minutes at 155 degrees or until a skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a cake rack to cool completely before slicing in half horizontally.

3) Whisk the cream using an electric whisk or hand beater until stiff peaks form and transfer to a piping bag. If you wish you can add vanilla seeds and icing sugar before whisking but I'll be honest, I think the clean taste of the cream is necessary to cut through the richness of the chocolate and the heady, boozy cherries.

4) Spoon the remaining kirsch syrup onto the top layer of the chocolate cake (it will absorb more easily if you do this on the cut side rather than the top side, alternatively you can poke a few holes with a skewer into the top) then sandwich it together with a layer of cherry jam and whipped cream in the middle and the remainder of the cream on the top.

5) Shave the chocolate using a grater and sprinkle liberally over the cream. Stud with cherries and allow to rest in the fridge until chilled before serving.

Kirschwasser

Ingredients 1lb cherries, 1/2 cup caster sugar, 1 cup alcohol (beer, brandy or red wine, are traditional) 1/2 tsp vanilla essence, 1/2 tsp cinnamon.

Preparation: 20 minutes

As part of the World Cup Food Challenge 2014, this recipe represents a traditional meal of Germany. Kirsch is a glorious, heady cold fruit soup consisting of essentially booze and whole, pitted cherries. In researching this recipe I found so many variations from those using milk or soured cream to those using beer or red wine. In the end, I went with a mixture of sloe gin and brandy simply because that was what I had in my cupboard and I can assure you that it is a knockout combination!

1) Pit the cherries, discarding the stones and add the fruit to a milk pan

2) Measure in the sugar, cinnamon and vanilla essence, top up with the booze and either 1/2 cup water or the excess cherry juice if you are using canned cherries (I used fresh fruit so I topped this up with a little apple juice).

3) Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes. Revel in the utterly divine smell. REVEL I SAY.

4) Chill and serve! I tried this with a blob of soured cream and also with sweet dumplings and I'll be honest I preferred it just on its own!