Method

• 1.
  Preheat oven to 150°C. Beat ricotta and eggs together in a large bowl. Carefully split vanilla bean and scrape seeds into ricotta, reserving pod for the syrup. Add sugar and nuts and beat together well.

• 2.
  Life is easier if you use a non-stick loaf tin, about 21 x 10 x 5 cm capacity, for the ricotta, but if you don't have a non-stick tin, then grease and line tin with plastic wrap. Spoon ricotta mixture into the tin and smooth the top, then cover with foil.
• 3.
  Cook the ricotta in a bain-marie, which basically means in a water bath. Place tin in a larger tin or roasting tray and pour in enough boiling water to come halfway up the outside of the ricotta tin. Bake for 50 minutes or until firm. Remove from water, take off foil and cool completely in fridge before turning out - it'll need at least a few hours.
• 4.
  For the cherries, put sugar, a small piece of lemon zest, vanilla pod and 100ml cold water in a pan and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes or until you have a very pale caramel. Remove from heat and stop the cooking process by carefully adding a squeeze of lemon juice and the kirsch. Cool completely but don't refrigerate - it'll take about 45 minutes.
• 5.
  Remove cherry stems. Working over a bowl, tear cherries in half and remove the stone. I like the look of the torn pieces of cherry; also you'll be squeezing out juice, which will look great on the plate. Keep in the fridge until you are ready to serve.
• 6.
  To serve, slice ricotta into about eight pieces, depending on how many you're serving. Remove the zest and vanilla pod from the syrup, then pour over the cherries. Serve cherries over the ricotta.