Cherry Cake

Ingredients

• soft butter (for the rings)
• 100 g Amarena cherries (canned)
• 1 untreated lemon
• 125 g ground almonds (peeled)
• 150 g flour
• 225 g cornstarch
• 2 tsp Baking powder
• 375 g butter
• 6 Eggs
• 325 g sugar
• food coloring (red, yellow, blue)
• 3 sheets gelatin
• 1 untreated lemon (juice and zest)
• 250 g mascarpone
• 250 g low-fat quark
• 40 g sugar
• 1 Tbsp vanilla sugar
• 1 egg white(s)
• 500 g powdered sugar
• food coloring (red and blue)
• 1.5 kg white fondant
• cornstarch (baker's starch, for rolling)

Instructions

1. 1.

   Preheat the oven to 160°C fan. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place three 20 cm diameter cake rings on it. Brush the rings with butter.

2. 2.

   Take the cherries out of the jar and finely chop them. Grate the lemon peel and squeeze its juice. In a bowl combine the nuts, flour and cornstarch with the baking powder. Melt the butter in a saucepan.

3. 3.

   Beat the eggs in a large mixing bowl, add sugar and whisk until fluffy with an electric mixer. Fold in the lemon juice and zest. Stir in 2-3 tbsp of the Amarena cherry syrup. Alternately fold in the melted butter and the flour mixture into the egg cream until a smooth, silky batter forms. Mix in the chopped cherries. Divide the batter into six equal portions. Color each portion with food coloring in various shades. For light orange or lilac tones add a few drops of yellow or blue color. Pour three batters into the prepared rings, level the tops and bake for about 30 minutes (test with a skewer).

4. 4.

   Remove from oven, let rest briefly, then remove from rings (cut along the edges with a sharp knife) and cool on a wire rack. Fill in the remaining colored batter and bake another 30 minutes. Let all layers cool completely.

5. 5.

   For the filling soak gelatin in cold water. Mix lemon zest, mascarpone, quark, sugar and vanilla sugar. Warm lemon juice in a saucepan and dissolve the strained gelatin in it. Stir in 2-3 tbsp of quark cream, then fold in the gelatin mixture. Place one cake layer on a platter and spread a thin layer of cream. Add another layer, spread cream, and continue layering all layers into a tall cake. Leave the top layer without cream. Remove any excess cream from the sides with a pastry scraper. Chill the cake.

6. 6.

   Whisk egg white and two thirds of powdered sugar slowly, adding more if needed. The mixture should be thick‑creamy yet still sprayable. Once the right consistency is reached, whisk for about 3 minutes. Take half of it, color pink with a little food coloring, and glaze the top and edges of the cake, letting it dry. Fill the remaining frosting into a small piping bag with a round tip and store in the fridge.

7. 7.

   Take a small piece of fondant, knead with a bit of red color until pink. Roll on a lightly dusted surface to about 5 mm thickness into an elongated strip. Use a ball pen (modeling tool) to create waves on one side. Place the strip around the top rim of the cake and secure with the remaining glaze.

8. 8.

   For additional layers, color fondant slightly stronger; for the final strip use blue for a lilac hue. Let everything dry well before serving the cake.