German Black Forest Cherry Torte

1. Heat oven to 350. Grease and flour 3 inch round baking pans.
2. Melt butter over low heat in small saucepan; remove from heat. Skim off milky solids and discard; reserve remaining butter. Beat eggs, sugar and vanilla on high speed in large bowl till mixture is thick., fluffy and very pale in color-about 10 minutes. Stir together flour and cocoa; sprinkle several tbsp over top of egg mixture. Gently fold into egg mixture; repeat procedure until all of cocoa mixture is combined with egg mixture. Fold in melted butter, several tbsp at a time. Divide mixture evenly among prepared pans.
3. Bake 10 to 15 min. Or until wooden pick comes out clean. Cool 5 min; losses sides from pan. Invert onto racks; cool completely.
4. Place cake layers on wax paper; with fork, poke holes about 1-inch apart thru all layers. Stir together corn syrup and cherry brandy; sprinkle evenly over cake layers. Lightly press cherries between layers of paper towels to remove excess moisture. Prepare whipped cream filling and topping.
5. To assemble, place one layer on serving plate; spread with 1/2 inch layer of whipped cream. Place half of drained cherries over top, leaving 1 inch around edge of cherries; with second layer, repeat procedure. Place third layer on top; frost and garnish top and sides with remaining whipped cream. Cover; refrigerate before serving. Garnish as desired.