Defrost the cherries on a piece of kitchen paper. Finely grate the marzipan. Warm the fat and 250 ml milk in a pot lukewarm, remove from the heat. Dissolve yeast in it. Put flour, 1 pinch of salt, egg yolks, sugar, marzipan and vanillin sugar in a bowl, add milk mixture. Knead with the dough hooks of the hand mixer to a smooth dough. Cover the dough and let it rise in a warm place for about 1 hour
Cut the dough in half. Mix cocoa with 2 tablespoons of milk and knead into one half of the dough. Divide both doughs into 16 equally sized pieces (32 pieces in total) and form into flat cakes. Cover the flat cakes with a cloth (so that they do not dry out), place 1 cherry in the middle of each and form into balls. Place alternately brown and white balls in a greased, flour-dusted ring cake mould (approx. 2 litres capacity). Cover and leave to rise again in a warm place for about 1 hour
Bake in the preheated oven (electric cooker: 175 °C/ convection oven: 150 °C/ gas: see manufacturer) for 60-70 minutes. Cover with aluminium foil after about 35 minutes. Remove from the oven, place on a cake rack in the tin and let it cool for about 15 minutes, then turn out of the tin and let it cool down. Stir 6 tbsp. milk with icing sugar until smooth and pour over the cake. Leave to dry
waiting time approx. 3 hours