Begin by removing the butter from the refrigerator and bringing it to room temperature.

Then, put the butter in a bowl together with the flour. Mix together with your hands. Then add the egg, finely chopped almonds, sugar, dark chocolate powder, cinnamon, vanillin and cherry eau du vie. Mix with your hands until you have a firm, elastic dough.

Once the dough is ready, cover it in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for an hour.

Roll out 2/3rds of the dough using a rolling pin and place the dough across a cake pan greased with butter. Spread the sour black cherry jam across the top of the dough, and use the remaining dough to form strips to place on top of the cake.

Brush the cake with egg yolk and bake in a 350°F oven for 40 minutes, or until the cake is golden.

Serve cold.

Food History

The cherry tree has ancient origins and most likely comes from Western Asia and Northern Africa.
There are two different types of this plant that produce very different fruit: the Prunus avium produces sweet cherries that can be eaten as is, whereas the Prunus cerasus produces a sour cherry that is used to make jam, syrups and liquors.
Although archeological studies have proven that the wild cherry tree was present in Europe more than 5,000 years ago, the cherry has only been cultivated relatively recently. Cherries are grown in a very orderly way. Cherries were first grown by humans in what is today Turkey, back in the 7th century A.C. and from there they spread to Greece. Thanks to the writings of Theophrastus, we know that cherries were already being grown systematically in 400 AC.
The cherry plant didn’t arrive in Italy until the 1st century AC, when according to Pliny, Lucullus, the Roman politician, introduced a type of cherry that could be cultivated, importing it directly from Turkey after a victorious campaign.

Other suggested recipes

• Cherry Compote
• Black Cherry Cake
• Cherry Strudel