Linda Collister's Divine Chocolate & Cherry Torte

Made with Divine’s 85% Dark Chocolate this is a rich but very light chocolate cake made without flour, nuts or cocoa so all you taste is wonderful chocolate!

1. 1

   • Heat the oven to 180C, 350F, Gas 4. Grease and base-line a 22cm springclip tin.
   
   • Break up the chocolate and put it into a heatproof bowl. Set the bowl over a pan of steaming water – don’t let the base of the bowl touch the water or allow the water to boil. Add the butter and leave to melt gently, stirring from time to time. As soon as the mixture is smooth remove the bowl from the pan and leave to cool until needed.
   
   • Meanwhile break the eggs into a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a large food mixer and whisk with an electric whisk or mixer for a few seconds just to break up the eggs. Add the vanilla and sugar then whisk on full power until the mixture is very thick, pale and mousse-like and about five times the original volume. This will take about 5 minutes. To test if the mixture is ready lift the whisk out of the bowl, if a thick ribbon-like trail of mixture falls back into the bowl and is still visible after 5 seconds then you can stop whisking. Pour the chocolate mixture onto the egg mixture and very gently and thoroughly fold the two together using a large metal spoon – this will take a couple of minutes.
   
   • Pour the mixture into the tin and bake in the heated oven for 35 minutes until just firm to the touch – the centre will be slightly moist under the crust. Stand the tin on a wire cooling rack and run a round-bladed knife around the inside of the tin to loosen the sponge. Leave until completely cold then unclip the tin and remove the sponge.
   
   • When ready to serve whip the cream with the icing sugar and kirsch then spread on top of the sponge. Decorate with cherries – if you have time you can stone them first. Once decorated the torte should be eaten the same day – if stored in the fridge it will become hard and crumbly to slice.