Christmas Day Dessert: These Black Forest Trifles Are Guaranteed To Go Down A Treat

This week we're sharing our favourite festive recipes, hand picked from Catherine Fulvio's latest cookbook, A Taste of Home, which showcases the best ingredients Ireland has to offer with a collection of delicious, reliable recipes. This Christmas Day Black Forest Trifle recipe makes four to five glasses, depending on the size. "It’s not Christmas at Ballyknocken without trifle. Here’s my twist on the classic, inspired by my year spent living in the deep south of Germany, where the freshly made Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (Black Forest Gateau) was a real treat." - Catherine Fulvio Ingredients 400g pitted cherries in syrup, drained and syrup retained 3 tsp arrowroot, to thicken 100g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids) 150g mascarpone 400ml cream, lightly whipped kirsch or brandy, to taste 8 slices chocolate loaf cake or brownie, roughly chopped cherries, to decorate Instructions In a small saucepan, mix about 100ml of the cherry syrup with the arrowroot. Place over a medium heat and stir until it thickens. Set aside. Melt the chocolate by placing in a ceramic bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. When melted, set aside half. When cooled, carefully mix the other half with the mascarpone, 200ml of the whipped cream and kirsch or brandy to taste. To flavour the chocolate cake, mix another 100ml of the cherry syrup with about 3 tbsp of kirsch. Lay the cake slices on a plate and pour this mix over, allowing it to soak in. To assemble, place some pretty glasses on a small tray. Place 3 or 4 cherries into each glass. Spoon in some chocolate mascarpone cream and add some pieces of the flavoured chocolate cake, followed by a good swirl of the thickened cherry syrup and some of the remaining 200ml of whipped cream and, finally, a drizzle of the melted chocolate. Repeat these layers, ending with whipped cream, then transfer the tray to the fridge. Remove from the fridge 20 minutes before you want to serve them. Spoon over a little cherry syrup and place a cherry on top of each trifle.