Chocolate-cherry trifle with speculatius eggnog cream

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 50 g dark chocolate, 70% cocoa content
• 50 g flour
• 50 g sugar
• 50 g butter, soft
• 2 eggs
• pinch(s) of salt
• 160 g cream cheese
• 150 ml egg liqueur
• 25 g sugar
• 1 sheet of gelatin
• Speculoos spice, to taste
• ½ organic orange(s), zest
• 1 jar sour cherries, 680 g filling weight
• 1 vanilla pod(s)
• 30 g sugar
• 2 tbsp, heaped cornstarch
• 50 g dark chocolate, 70% cocoa content

Instructions

Working time approx. 40 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 10 minutes

with a Christmas touch

For the sponge cake, finely chop the dark chocolate and melt it over a hot water bath. Beat the butter, 25g of sugar, and a pinch of salt using a hand mixer or a food processor until creamy. Separate the eggs and gradually beat the egg yolks well into the butter mixture. Then stir in the melted chocolate coating. Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff peaks form, then slowly add the remaining 25g of sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Pour the egg whites into the butter mixture and sift the flour on top. Carefully fold in the egg whites and flour. Spread the batter onto a baking sheet lined with baking paper, making sure it is 0.5cm thick. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (top/bottom heat) on the middle rack for 12-15 minutes. Then let it cool and cut the sponge cake into small cubes. For the cherry compote, empty the cherries from the jar into a sieve, reserving the juice. Mix 4 tablespoons of juice with the cornstarch. Split the vanilla pod and scrape out the seeds. Bring the vanilla seeds and vanilla pod to a boil with the remaining juice and simmer for about 5 minutes. After the cooking time, remove the vanilla pod, stir in the cherry juice and cornstarch, and bring everything to a boil briefly. Stir in the drained cherries and bring to a boil briefly. Then let the compote cool. Note: Since the cherries were too big for this dessert, I briefly pureed everything with a hand blender. For the cream, soak the gelatine in cold water for 10 minutes. Heat the advocaat slightly and stir in the squeezed gelatine, sugar, and cream cheese. Finally, season to taste with the orange zest and speculatius spice, and let cool. For the chocolate sauce, finely chop the dark chocolate and melt it over a hot water bath and keep it warm. Now layer the trifle like this: First, cover the bottom of the dessert glass with a few cubes of sponge cake. Spread a thin layer of cream on top, then a layer of cherry compote. Drizzle some of the melted dark chocolate on top. Repeat this process once more. Finally, add a few cubes of sponge cake.