Cream and Chocolate Cake with Cherries

For the chocolate cream filling: Prepare cream the day before so that it has enough time to mature. Heat cream with vanilla sugar and stir in chopped chocolate, then melt while stirring at modest heat. Do not boil. Pour cream into a bowl, beat briefly with a blender until it is smooth and homogeneous, then let cool and place covered in refrigerator.

For the sponge cake: Preheat oven to 160°C (approximately 325°F). Grease baking pan with some butter and powder it with flour. Melt butter in a small pan at modest heat. Separate eggs and place in two mixing bowls. Beat egg yolks with sugar until creamy over a pot of hot water. Mix flour with cocoa powder and chocolate shavings. Then add to yolk cream mixture and carefully fold together with the warm butter.

Beat egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff, then stir into the first 1/3 of the yolk cream mixture, then carefully fold remainder moving from top to bottom. Pour cake batter into prepared pan and bake on the middle rack for about 35 minutes. Remove from oven, place on a wire rack and let cool well.

For the filling: Drain cherries. Cut cooled cake twice horizontally.

Whip prepared chocolate cream filling with an electric mixer then stir in the rum.

Spread half of the chocolate cream filling and cherries on the bottom layer, then put on the second layer. Spread remaining cherries on it and spread remaining cream on top. Place third layer on top and press down gently by hand.

For the glaze: Combine all ingredients except the chocolate in a saucepan and bring to a boil while stirring, then remove from heat. Add finely chopped or grated chocolate and melt while stirring, then stir with a blender, making sure that the blender is always kept on the bottom of the bowl so that no air can be mixed in.