Black Forest loaf cake

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4. Grease and line a 900g loaf tin. Reserve 6 whole cherries with stalks, stone and halve the rest. Mix the halved cherries with the pistachios and kirsch and set aside.

2. Place the butter, sugar, flour, cocoa, vanilla, eggs and milk in a large bowl and whisk until pale and fluffy. Stir in half the marinated cherries and nuts with 1 tbsp of their juice and spoon into the prepared loaf tin. Bake for 1 hour or until a skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool completely.

3. Whisk the cream to soft peaks and spoon into a piping bag with a fluted nozzle. Cut the cake in half, horizontally. Pipe a decorative line of cream down the centre of the top-side of the top half of the cake and pipe the remainder over the top of the bottom half. Spoon the remaining marinated cherries, nuts and juice over the bottom layer and place the top half of cake on the top.

4. Melt the white chocolate in a bowl over simmering water (or in the microwave) until melted and pour into a disposable piping bag (or a small plastic food bag), snip off the end. Place the reserved whole cherries on top of the cream and drizzle with the melted white chocolate and some reserved chopped pistachios.