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1
Preheat the oven to 350F.
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2
Butter a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
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3
To make the devils food cake, whisk together the cocoa and water in a bowl to make a paste.
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4
Sift together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
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5
In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, brown sugar, and vanilla on medium speed.
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6
Add the egg and the yolk, followed by the cocoa paste.
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7
Once combined, alternate adding the dry ingredients and the buttermilk.
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8
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, turning after the first 30 minutes, until the cake is firm to the touch and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
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9
Remove the cake from the oven, let rest in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove from the pan and transfer to a cooling rack.
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10
To make the ice cream, split the vanilla beans lengthwise and scrape the seeds from each side into the measured sugar.
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11
In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, cream, and half of the vanilla sugar.
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12
Whisk together and bring to a full rolling boil over medium-high heat.
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13
While the milk mixture is heating, whisk together the egg yolks and the remaining vanilla sugar.
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14
Temper the eggs into the boiling milk mixture by removing the saucepan from the heat and pouring half of it over the yolks.
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15
Whisk this well and return the yolk mixture to the saucepan.
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16
Whisk in the salt.
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17
In a metal bowl over ice, chill the ice cream base thoroughly.
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18
Strain the base through a fine-mesh sieve.
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19
Process the base in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturers instructions.
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20
Transfer the ice cream to a covered container and place in the freezer until it is firm, about 2 hours.
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21
To make the sour cherries, in a small pot, combine the wine, sugar, and anise seeds and heat until the sugar is dissolved.
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22
Add the dried cherries, stir, and slowly reduce the mixture until it has the consistency of a syrup.
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23
Set aside to cool.
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24
When ready to assemble, let the ice cream defrost at room temperature for 15 minutes.
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25
Mix the sour cherries into the ice cream.
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26
Evenly spread the ice cream over 4 (1/2-inch-thick) slices of the chocolate cake, covering them all the way to the edge.
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27
(The ice cream must be soft enough to avoid ripping the bread.)
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28
Top with a matching 4 slices of chocolate cake and place them in the freezer for at least 1 hour before serving.
