In a saucepan, combine the cherry juice, sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch, almond extract, and ground cinnamon. Place over medium heat and stir continuously until the mixture thickens. Once thickened, remove from heat and gently fold in the morello cherries, ensuring they’re evenly coated with the filling. Transfer to a bowl and set aside to cool.

In a small bowl, mix together the cherry juice and almond extract. Set this syrup aside to use later for soaking the cake layers.

Preheat your oven to 160°C (320°F) with the fan on. If your oven does not have a fan function, see note 2. Grease or line only the bottoms of three 8-inch cake tins with baking paper circles; leave the sides ungreased. In a bowl, sift together the flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder, instant coffee powder, and salt. Whisk the dry ingredients to combine and set aside.

In a small bowl, mix the vegetable oil and melted butter, then set aside. In a large heatproof bowl, crack in the eggs and add the sugar and vanilla extract. Whisk together and place the bowl over a pot of simmering water, ensuring the bowl does not touch the water. Stir continuously until the mixture is warm to the touch and the sugar has completely dissolved—this can be checked by rubbing a bit between your fingers or with a thermometer reaching 45°C (113°F).

Remove the bowl from the heat immediately to avoid cooking the eggs. Using a hand or stand mixer on medium-high speed, whip the egg mixture until it triples in volume and is thick enough to form ribbons when lifted with a spatula—this usually takes 5 to 10 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to low and continue mixing for another 2 minutes to stabilize the batter and remove any large air bubbles.

Sift half of the dry ingredients over the whipped eggs and gently fold in with a spatula until almost combined. Repeat with the remaining dry ingredients, folding just until combined. Next, fold in the oil and butter mixture gently. If the butter has solidified, warm it slightly before adding.

Divide the batter evenly among the three cake tins. To remove large air bubbles, run a toothpick through the batter and gently tap the tins on the countertop. Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until the tops are set and a light press creates an indent that slowly bounces back.

Once baked, drop each cake tin from about 10 cm height to release steam, then invert the cakes to cool upside down for 30 minutes. Afterward, run a thin knife around the edges to loosen the cakes and turn them onto a wire rack to finish cooling. When completely cool, gently brush off the thin crust on top of each cake layer by hand or with a serrated knife to help the layers absorb the syrup better.

Using a vegetable peeler, shave the block of dark chocolate into small shards (about 180 g worth). Place the chocolate shards in the fridge until ready to use.

Ensure both the mascarpone and whipping cream are cold. In a large bowl, combine the mascarpone, icing sugar, and vanilla extract. Beat on low speed for about 10 seconds, then increase to medium-high speed and whip until well combined, approximately 1 minute. If using a stand mixer, use the whisk attachment.

Add the cold whipping cream and mix on low for 10 seconds to avoid splattering, then increase to medium-high speed and whip until stiff peaks form. Watch carefully to avoid overwhipping.

Place the first cake layer on your serving plate or cake stand. Using a pastry brush, soak the layer generously with 1/3 of the cherry syrup. Transfer about 1/4 of the whipped cream to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip (or simply cut the tip off a piping bag). Pipe a dam of cream around the edge of the cake to hold the filling.

Spread half of the cherry filling evenly inside the cream dam. Cover the filling with a layer of whipped cream, smoothing it with an offset spatula.

Add the second cake layer and repeat the process: soak with syrup, pipe a cream dam, add the remaining cherry filling, and spread a layer of whipped cream.

Place the final cake layer on top and soak it with the remaining syrup. Cover the entire cake—top and sides—with the remaining whipped cream. Press the chilled chocolate shards gently onto the sides of the cake using your hands to coat evenly.

Fill another piping bag fitted with a 1M star tip with the remaining whipped cream and pipe decorative swirls around the top edges of the cake. Fill the center of the cake top with more chocolate shards and garnish each swirl with a fresh, glacé, or maraschino cherry.

Refrigerate the assembled cake for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight, to allow the flavors to fully develop. Trust the process—waiting makes it all the more delicious!