Preheat the oven to 180°C-160°C fan-forced (355°F-320°F). Line the bases of 2 X 23 cm – 9 inch round springform pans with baking paper and grease and lightly flour the sides.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the chocolate, sugar and 2 cups of cold water. Cook, stirring constantly, for 3 to 4 minutes or until smooth. Transfer to a large bowl and let it cool for 10 minutes.

Add the lightly beaten eggs and stir to combine.

Add the flours and cocoa powder and stir until smooth.

Divide the mixture into the prepared pans.

Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre has moist crumbs clinging on it.

Let the cakes stand for 10 minutes in the pan, then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Heat the cream to simmering, then put the fire off.

Add the chopped chocolate, all at once. Allow to stand for 3 minutes.

Use a wire whisk to stir the cream and chocolate together until smooth and well-combined.

Line the base of a 23 cm – 9 inch round springform pan with baking paper and pour the warm ganache into it.

Set aside to cool completely and harden.

Put the water and sugar in a saucepan and heat on the fire just until the sugar has dissolved. Let it cool down.

Add the liqueur, if using.

Level the 2 cakes using a sharp serrated knife. As I had frozen my cakes, I let them defrost half way through, but not completely, before leveling them. I find this helps to get a cleaner cut.

Using a toothpick, prick the cakes’ surfaces and brush with the sugar syrup. This will help to keep the cake moist. Add as much syrup as the cake absorbs, but don’t exaggerate or the cake may crumble when you try to assemble it.

Unmould the chocolate ganache disc and place it on one of the leveled cakes, then top it with the other cake. Choose the smoothest side for the top.

Cover the assembled cake and refrigerate it overnight.

Combine the egg whites, sugar, and salt in the heatproof bowl of a standing mixer set over a pan of simmering water.

Whisk constantly by hand until the mixture is warm to the touch and the sugar has dissolved.

Attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Starting on low and gradually increasing to medium-high speed, whisk until stiff peaks form. Continue mixing until the mixture is fluffy and glossy and completely cool (this will take about 10 minutes).

With the mixer on medium-low speed, add the butter a few tablespoons at a time, mixing well after each addition. Once all the butter has been added, whisk in the vanilla extract.

Switch to the paddle attachment, and continue beating on low speed until all air bubbles are eliminated (this will take about 2 minutes). Scrape down the sides of the bowl and continue beating until the frosting is completely smooth.

To tint the buttercream you can use gel-paste food colours. Add the colour with the vanilla extract.

Start off by crumb coating your cake. You can use your favourite buttercream recipe or even the same Swiss meringue buttercream that you will use to decorate the cake. Just make sure you put it in a separate bowl as you do not want any crumbs in the buttercream you will be using to pipe the rosettes!

Also, make sure the crumb coating is more or less the same colour as your rosettes.

Start from the top, then do the sides. Use a cake spatula to make sure the surface of the cake is as smooth as possible. When the cake is all covered in icing, put it in the fridge to harden.

When the crumb coating has hardened, you are ready to start decorating the cake.

Fit your piping bag with a 1M Wilton tip and fill it with the Swiss meringue buttercream.

Twist the end and squeeze the piping bag, to remove any air from it.

Get the cake out of the fridge and use a round cookie cutter about the size you want your roses to be to gently indent the frosting to outline where each rose will go. Continue around the whole cake, trying to leave as little space as possible between each rose.

Now start piping your roses. Starting in the center of each circle outline, begin piping a circular swirl outward until you reach the outer border of the circle. Then, move right on to the next circle. Start from the cake’s sides and then move to the top, leaving the centre for last.

When making flowers that big, you are bound to have some ‘dead’ space in there. Go in and make a swoop with your tip, trying to go in the same direction as the rose right next to it.

Serve and enjoy!