Forest with Beetles" Cake

"

Ingredients

For the dough:

4 eggs

Sugar

Butter

Flour

Cocoa powder

1 tsp Vanilla

For the filling:

200 ml 48% cream

425 g canned cherries

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp starch

3 tbsp cherry liqueur

Caramel

Licorice candies

The secret to this cake is to weigh the eggs first. You'll need equal amounts of sugar, butter, flour, and cocoa powder. If the eggs, for example, weigh 250 g, then you need 250 g sugar, etc. Flour should be 80% of the egg weight, and cocoa powder 20%.

 Line a 20 cm diameter pie pan with baking paper. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Beat the butter and sugar together, then beat in the eggs, one at a time. Before beating in the fourth egg, add a tablespoon of flour. Stir. Add the vanilla, remaining flour, and cocoa.

The dough should be slightly loose. Divide the dough into 2 portions and bake each for 30 minutes. Cool before filling.

Make beetles from black marzipan. Let set for a couple of hours. In a small saucepan, heat the cherries in the juice (add sugar, starch, and a little water). Bring to a boil and simmer until the liquid thickens. Pour in a tablespoon of the liqueur. Let cool.

 Place the first layer of cake and soak it with the remaining liqueur. Spread the cherry filling (including the sauce). Whip the cream and spoon it over the cherries. Cover the cream with the second layer of cake.

Mix the powdered sugar with cocoa, adding boiling water a tablespoon at a time until it reaches a smooth, runny consistency. Pour this mixture over the top of the cake, allowing the cocoa to drip down the edges. Sprinkle the entire surface with chocolate cookie crumbs. Decorate with marzipan bugs and edible licorice worms.

Enjoy!