大象传媒

Method

1. Reserve one square of the chocolate for decoration and put the rest in a medium heatproof bowl and either melt in a microwave on HIGH for about 1鈥�1陆 minutes, or place over a saucepan of gently simmering water. Once almost melted, remove from the heat and stir until smooth.

2. Add the custard to the melted chocolate and stir well. Transfer to a saucepan and heat very gently, for just 20鈥�30 seconds, stirring constantly until the custard is smooth and glossy. Don鈥檛 allow to get too warm.

3. Arrange the sliced Swiss roll around the base and sides of a medium trifle dish. Drizzle with the cherry brandy, brandy or kirsch if using.

4. Drain the cherries, reserving the syrup. (If the cherries contain stones, you may wish to stone the cherries at this point, especially if serving children 鈥� you can do this by poking with a skewer, halving the cherries and removing the stones, or using a cherry stoner. Otherwise, leave the stones in place and warn people before they begin to eat.)

5. Drizzle the sponge with 5鈥�6 tbsp of the cherry syrup, until lightly soaked. Reserve 6 of the cherries for decoration and scatter the rest over the sponge. Pour the chocolate custard on top. Cover and chill for 2鈥�3 hours, or overnight, until the custard is softly set.

6. Whip the cream in a bowl using an electric whisk, or by hand, until just thick enough to form soft peaks when the whisk is removed from the bowl. Spoon gently on top of the custard. Finely grate the reserved chocolate on top. Decorate with the remaining cherries and serve.