Instructions:

1. The night before you want to serve your cake, reserve 10 whole cherries, but pit and cut in half the remaining:
• 1 lb cherries
2. Place halved cherries in a bowl and soak with:
• 1 cup kirsch , or other cherry liqueur
3. Cover and chill cherries in refrigerator over night until ready to use.
4. The day you want to serve your cake, preheat oven to 350ºF.
5. Line the bottom of three 9-inch round pans with parchment or waxed paper. Do not grease the pans.
6. In a small bowl, whisk together:
• ³/₄ cup cake flour
• 2 TBS cake flour
• ³/₄ cup cocoa powder, unsweetened
7. Using a stand mixer whisk together on medium-high for a minute to blend:
• 7 eggs, large
8. Slowly mix:
• 1 ¹/₂ cup granulated sugar
9. Whisk until eggs are a light yellow color and the stream of the batter, when the beater is lifted, leaves a thick ribbon.
10. Sift the flour mixture into the eggs in 3 additions, gently folding after each addition.
11. Take care not to deflate the batter, but make sure all of the dry ingredients are mixed in.
12. Divide the batter among the 3 prepared pans.
13. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
14. The cake is very fragile so let it cool in its pan for at least one hour before removing it from the pan.
15. When cool, gently run a knife around the cake edge and very gently, flip it over onto a cake board.
16. Remove the parchment paper.
17. To make the whipped cream, using a stand mixer beat into a chilled bowl:
• 3 cup heavy cream
18. Beat for one minute, until frothy, then beat in:
• ¹/₄ cup granulated sugar
• 1 ¹/₂ tsp vanilla extract
19. Beat until whipped cream forms stiff peaks.
20. Drain the cherries and reserve the liquid.
21. To assemble the cake, place one layer of cake on a cake board or cake plate.
22. Tear strips of parchment paper and place strips underneath the cake, around the entire cake. This will keep your cake board or cake plate clean during the decorating.
23. With a teaspoon or pastry brush, soak the cake with approximately 1/4 cup of the reserved liquid from the brandied cherries.
24. Spread a thin layer of whipped cream on top of the cake layer.
25. Spread half of the cherries over the whipped cream.
26. Cover cherries with more whipped cream.
27. Place the next cake layer over the covered cherries and repeat steps 23 - 25.
28. Place the final cake layer over the covered cherries.
29. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining whipped cream.
30. Using grater or a potato peeler cut curls and grate chocolate for garnish from:
• 1 lb chocolate , *
31. Decorate the top of the cake with the reserved whole cherries.
32. Carefully remove the strips of parchment paper.
33. Refrigerate cake for at least 4 hours or up to overnight before serving.