Preheat oven to 180⁰ C. Lightly grease an 8” diameter baking tin and dust with flour

Sieve together maida, cocoa powder, baking powder and soda bicarbonate. Soften butter in a bowl, add milkmaid, sugar and beat well. Add Vanilla essence and mix.

Slowly fold in the sieved maida mixture and aerated soda alternately to the butter mixture till all the maida and soda are used up. Pour the batter into the prepared baking tin and bake in the preheated oven for 40 -45 minutes or till tooth pick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Remove from oven, cool for a while. Turn out over a wire rack or plate.

Once cooled cut the cake into three equal layers with the help of either a knife or thread.

Prepare the icing by whipping the whipped cream.

Time to decorate.

Step by step layer the cake with firstly the base then pour some sugar syrup (that was left from canned cherries)on the base then put the whipped cream and lastly the chopped cherries. Similarly layer all three layers.

In the end decorate the cake as your choice.