Danny Kingston serves up his own spin on a Zuger kirschtorte, using seasonal blackberries in the buttercream for an autumnal twist on the sweet Swiss treat. This is a labour-intensive bake, but the results are well worth it.
First you need to macerate the blackberries for the buttercream. Place them in a bowl and sprinkle over 25g of icing sugar and the kirsch. Mix and set aside
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To make the meringues, preheat the oven to 170°C/gas mark 3. Take two sheets of greaseproof paper and using a 20cm cake ring as a template, draw a circle on each one
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Place the eggs whites in a clean bowl and, using an electric whisk, beat the egg whites with 20g of the icing sugar to begin with. Whisk until you get stiff peaks and then in a separate bowl, sift in the remaining icing sugar, ground almonds and cornflour
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Gently fold the dry ingredients into the beaten egg whites, a third at a time – do not over-work. Carefully spoon the mix onto each sheet of greaseproof paper, spooning to the edges of the drawn circles
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Place in the oven and bake for 40–50 minutes, until the meringue is crisp and golden. Switch the oven off and leave to cool
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The meringue will overlap the edge of the circles during cooking, so to get a neater edge, place the cake ring over the top and run a sharp knife around the inside to trim
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To make your sponge, grease the same 20cm cake tin with some butter and line the base with greaseproof paper
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Place the butter and sugar in a bowl and beat using an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs to the mixture, one at a time until incorporated, then fold in the flour
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Spoon the sponge mix into the cake tin and then place into the oven (keeping it at 170°C/gas mark 3) and bake for 25–30 minutes, or until a cake skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool a touch before removing and placing on a cooling rack
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Make the syrup by putting the sugar and water in a small pan. Bring to the boil, stirring to ensure that the sugar dissolves, then set aside
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Now make the buttercream. First, take the macerated blackberries and place them in a sieve, using a bowl underneath to catch the liquid. Press down with a fork, squeezing out all the juice and remaining Kirsch
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Place the softened butter in a bowl with the icing sugar and beat with an electric mixer for at least 5 minutes, until pale and fluffy. Slowly pour in the blackberry juice and continue mixing, until it turns a light pink colour
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To build your kirschtorte, place one of the meringue discs on a plate or cake stand and spread a generous amount of the buttercream over the top – just under half of the buttercream
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Place the sponge cake on top of the buttercream and lightly pierce the top with a skewer (don’t go all the way through). Using a pastry brush or spoon, soak the sponge with the kirsch syrup
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Spread the other meringue disc with the same amount of buttercream as before – you want to have a little left over – and then invert and press down onto the sponge
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Finish by decorating the meringue with small, piped amounts of buttercream and then pop a blackberry on top. Scatter some Demerara sugar and some toasted almond flakes over the top and serve at room temperature – maybe with some more kirsch
