Black Forest Cheesecake 2

Beat together 4oz soft margarine, 4oz caster (!) sugar, 2 tbsp cocoa,2 eggs and 4oz self-raising flour. Spoon into a lightly greased loose-bottomed cake tin (about 9"). Bake at 190 C / 375 F for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile....

Beat together 1lb Quark (see below), 3oz caster sugar, 5 fl.oz soured cream, 1oz ground almonds, 1 tsp grated lemon rind, 2 eggs and a few drops of vanilla essence.

Allow the sponge base to cool a little bit and then pour over the quark mixture. Bake this at 180 C / 350 F for about 30 minutes. The cake should be just set and not browned or rubbery on top.

Leave to cool a bit, remove from tin and put on a wire rack. When completely cool (hip, groovy, etc), arrange a layer of stoned (ahem..),sour cherries on the top, topping the lot off with piped whipped cream into which cinnamon has been insinuated.

It's very simple and very effective. The only worry I have with it is that without the cream, it tastes a little dry.

QUARK: A low fat soft cheese from Germany. Available in the UK from Sainsbury's (Milram brand). If you can't find it, I've used St.Ivel Shape with success. Don't know how my transatlantic chums are served with Quark outlets...