Mole Cake (German Maulwurftorte)

DIRECTIONS

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees and grease the base of 10 inch round form.
• Beat egg whites very stiff. Stir in the softened butter or margarine with a hand mixer until it becomes smooth. Gradually add sugar and vanilla sugar, stir until mixture has thickened. Add egg yolks one at a time, whisking with mixer at the highest setting.
• Mix together cocoa powder and baking powder, sift, add the hazelnuts and grated chocolate to the egg mixture in 2 stages and stir briefly using the medium setting on your mixer.
• Put the cake mixture in the springform and smooth the surface.
• Place in oven for about 30 minutes.
• Leave cake in tin for about 10 minutes after taking out of the oven.
• After removing from form place on cooling rack.
• When cool, scoop out cake with a spoon to a depth of 3/8 inch, leaving a rim of about 3/8 -3/4 inch. To ensure a neat rim, cut round the cake with tip of a knife before scooping out the middle.
• Crumble the scooped out cake in a bowl.
• For the filling drain the cherries and place on a paper towel.
• Peel the bananas, cut in half lengthways, sprinkle with lemon juice and arrange in scooped out cake.
• Arrange the cherries on top.
• Whip the cream with sugar and vanilla sugar, spoon on the fruit to form a dome.
• Sprinkle with the remaining crumbled cake.
• Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.