Ingredients

• 340g/12oz strong white flour
• plus extra for dusting
• 60g/2¼oz cocoa powder
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• 400g/14oz unsalted butter
• cut into cubes
• 1 free-range egg
• beaten for egg wash
• icing sugar
• for dusting
• 300ml/10fl oz double cream
• 250g/9oz black cherries in kirsch flavoured syrup (drained weight)
• 12 reserved and the rest chopped
• 2 tbsp syrup from black cherries (see above)
• 2 tbsp kirsch
• few drops of almond extract
• 50g/1¾oz icing sugar
• 50g/1¾oz toasted flaked almonds
• plus extra for decoration
• 100ml/3½fl oz double cream
• 1 tsp unsalted butter
• 100g/3½oz plain chocolate

Directions

• For the rough puff
• sift the flour and cocoa into a mixing bowl and stir in the salt. Add the butter and rub it into the flour using your fingertips (you should have small flakes of butter throughout). Mix in 160ml/5½fl oz water and gently knead together. Bring the dough together and shape into a rectangle. Wrap in cling film and chill for 20 minutes.
• On a lightly floured work surface
• roll out the chilled pastry to a rectangle about 60cm/24in long. With the short edge facing you
• fold the top third down and the bottom third up. Turn the pastry by 90 degrees (known as a quarter turn) and roll out into a rectangle as before. Repeat the folding process
• wrap in cling film and chill again.
• To make the Black Forest gâteau filling
• whip the double cream until stiff peaks form when the whisk is removed. Mix in the chopped cherries
• syrup
• kirsch and almond extract. Stir through then sift in the icing sugar and mix until combined.
• Preheat the oven to 220C/200C Fan/Gas 7.
• Roll out the pastry until it is 3-4mm thick. Cut into long strips about 1cm/½in wide. Wrap each strip around a horn mould starting at the tip and working upwards
• with the pastry overlapping slightly. Brush with beaten egg
• dust with icing sugar and place on a baking tray seam-side down. Bake for about 15-20 minutes until the pastry is crisp and darkened slightly.
• Once the horns are cooked
• set aside cool for a couple of minutes then remove from horn moulds and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
• For the chocolate ganache
• heat the cream
• butter and chocolate in a pan. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk the mixture until smooth and thickened. Leave to cool slightly then spoon into a piping bag fitted with a small plain nozzle.
• Stand the horns in mugs to keep them upright and then pipe fine lines of the chocolate ganache inside the horns reaching as far as possible.
• Fill the horns with the Black Forest gâteau filling. Top with a cherry and a few almond flakes. Pipe a thin line of chocolate along the top rim of the pastry.