Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (180C) or 325 FC (160C) for a convection oven. Prepare three 8 inch round pans with baker's floured spray (or grease and line with parchment rounds).

In a separate bowl, beat eggs, buttermilk, vanilla, and bourbon together until well combined. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until no dry ingredients are visible. Scrape down the bowl, stir in chopped cherries, and beat for another 20 seconds.

Beat together softened cream cheese and butter; slowly add in powdered sugar alternating with bourbon until frosting reaches a spreadable consistency. Add vanilla and salt if needed and beat until well combined.

Once your cakes are cool, level them (if needed/desired). This can be done with a cake leveler or a large serrated knife and a ruler. Place a smear of frosting on your cake circle (to keep the cake from sliding while you decorate it) and center your first cake layer in the center of the circle. Pipe a small ‘dam’ of frosting around the outer edge to hold your filling in, and spread a layer of cherry filling over the first cake layer. Center the next cake layer on top. Repeat the process with your remaining cake layers.

Now you're ready to crumb-coat . If you're unfamiliar with crumb-coating, it's just what it sounds like – spreading a thin layer of frosting over the entire outside of the cake to keep crumbs out of your final layer. I usually do this with my large offset spatula.

Once your crumb coat has set (this takes about 5-10 minutes in the fridge), add your final layer of frosting and smooth. I like to use an offset spatula and bench scraper for this part. Once your cake is covered, place it into the fridge or freezer to set the frosting.

Meanwhile, make your ganache. Place chocolate chips in a heat-proof bowl. Add whipping cream and microwave on half power in 30-second intervals, stirring in between until smooth.

When your ganache has cooled to a moderate temperature – it should feel slightly warm and still be fairly liquid – transfer it to a squeeze bottle or piping bag. A spoon will work if you don’t have either of those, I've just found spoons to be a little bit more difficult to work with.

Slowly drizzle ganache around the upper edge of your cake, pausing every inch or so to let more ganache fall in a drip down the side of the cake.

To add the sprinkles to the drip, shake some of your sprinkles into a shallow bowl or dish. Spread a bit of shortening on your fingertip – this will make the sprinkles stick to your finger, and make it easy to transfer them to the drip! Add as many sprinkles as you’d like, and return cake to the fridge or freezer to set the drips.

Transfer some frosting to your large piping bag fitted with the tip of your choice (from the set linked above, I used the large star tip). Pipe swirls around the top edge of the cake – I alternated larger swirls with smaller more oblong swirls.