Melt together the dark chocolate and butter in a glass bowl over a bain marie (a pot of simmering water), or in short bursts in the microwave, stirring in between until fully smooth.

Dissolve the coffee in a mug with the boiling water. Add to the chocolate and butter mix and stir in until smooth.

Leave to the side to cool to room temperature.

In another large mixing bowl, add the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and sugars and mix together with a wooden spoon.

In another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and eggs until light and airy. You’ll know this is ready when you lift the whisk up and a trail continues pouring from the whisk for a few seconds.

Fold the eggs and buttermilk mix into the chocolate and butter mix.

Add the dry ingredients into this new chocolate mix and fold in gently until completely combined.

Bake for 45 - 50 minutes. This will depend on how hot your oven runs. You can check the sponges after 40 minutes.

The sponges will be ready when a skewer or cocktail stick comes out with a few crumbs attached but not wet, and the sponges make little to no bubbling/crackling sounds when you listen to them.

Leave the sponges in the tins to cool. If soaking them in the cherry Kirsch, do so now. Poke a few holes in each sponge with a fork and spoon over a generous amount of the Kirsch. Around 5 or so tbsp for each is a good amount.

Leave to cool in the tins for 10 or so minutes before transferring upside down to a wire rack to cool completely.

While your cakes are cooling, mould your characters. This is easier to do by moulding mostly from a single block rather than individual pieces.

You can mould the ears separately and attach them with edible glue or by sticking cocktail sticks through them horizontally into the head.

I recommend moulding the steeple and shaping the jaw around it.

Make sure to add fondant under the head to support it - you can cover it with the hair.

Paint the features of your characters using the different food colourings and small paint brushes.

Set aside to dry as much as possible.

Whilst your fondant characters are drying, whip your cream.

Whip the cream and icing sugar in a large bowl with an electric whisk until you have reached near stiff peaks.

Place one of the sponge layers on a cake board/cake stand/plate.

Smother a generous amount of cherry jam on the sponge.

Gently spoon a generous amount of the whipped cream over the jam and spread to the edges as much as possible.

Lay the second sponge on top.

Add the green food colouring to the whipped cream and briefly whisk until the cream is an even colour. It should be in stiff peaks now.

Carefully lift the fondant icing characters and push 4 or 5 cocktail sticks into the base (1 in the swan and the rest into the head) until halfway in. Lower them into the cake until the cocktail sticks are secure and the characters are balanced well.

The head will be heavy but the cake is sturdy enough to hold it!

If piping the hair, do so now using the following steps.

In a new bowl, beat together the butter and icing sugar. Add a splash of milk to loosen if needed. Add the black food colouring and beat in until dark.

Add the buttercream to a piping bag or sandwich bag with a multi-hole nozzle and pipe on to create the hair. I find that a squeeze, let go and lift technique works well here.

Using the multi-hole nozzle (cleaned) in a piping bag or sandwich bag, pipe the grass - using the same technique - all over the top sponge. Be careful to pipe around the characters without touching or knocking them.

Lastly, make the ‘blood’ ganache.

Put the white chocolate and cream in a microwavable safe bowl and microwave in 20 second bursts until melted together, stirring in between.

Once melted, add the red food colouring and mix in until an even blood-red colour has been achieved.

Using the spoon, pour the ganache over the edge of the right (his left) eyebrow, and the rest over the mouth and steeple.

Serve immediately or keep in a cake box in the fridge until ready to serve.