Chocolate and raspberries complement each other perfectly. So, a Chocolate Raspberry Cake topped with a dusting of icing sugar or a generous helping of whipped cream makes for a sinful treat.
To make your cake even more chocolicious, coat the cake with a delicious chocolate glaze. This is a very easy recipe that only takes a few minutes to put together.
The raspberries are included within the cake either as part of the batter or in the form of a layered cake. The latter option is a more visually appealing. Fresh raspberries will undoubtedly enhance the flavor of your cake. Frozen raspberries also can be utilized as they are easier to work with.
You must remember to line the base of the baking tray with non-stick baking paper. This ensures that the cake does not get glued to the baking tray.
Recipe for Chocolate Raspberry Cake (Serves 12):
Ingredients:
- 250g butter, chopped
- 1 1/2 cup (375ml) water
- 1 cup (220g) caster sugar
- 1/3 cup (35g) cocoa powder
- 2/3 cup (100g) dark chocolate, chopped
- 1 2/3 cups (250g) plain flour, sifted
- 1 teaspoon bi-carbonate of soda (bi-carb soda)
- 2 cups frozen raspberries
Method:
- Combine the butter, water, sugar, cocoa powder and chocolate together in a medium sized saucepan.
- Place over gentle heat. Bring to the boil whilst stirring. You need to stir until everything has dissolved to stop the mix from burning. Be careful that the mix does not boil over.
- Simmer gently for 5 minutes.
- Remove from the heat. Cover with a lid and leave to cool to room temperature. To cool this quickly, place the saucepan in a sink of cold water and stir.
- Whisk in gently the flour and bi-carb soda into the cooled liquid. Whisk until all lumps are removed. Do not over whisk; you are not trying to add air into the batter. Your aim is to just remove any flour lumps.
- If you want the raspberries throughout the cake carefully fold through now.
- Pour batter into the prepared baking pan. Remember the baking pan must be lined with non-stick baking paper. The batter will be quite liquid and will level naturally. Tap the tin on the kitchen bench three times to remove any large air bubbles.
- If you want the raspberries to be in a layer on top of the cake sprinkle them evenly across the top of the batter. Gently press them into the batter.
- Bake in a preheated oven set at 160oC (325oF) for 90 minutes. The extra moisture and coldness of the frozen raspberries means an additional 10 minutes has been added to the baking time.
- Remove from the oven. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes. Gently and very carefully turn out the raspberry chocolate cake on to a board then turn over again onto your serving plate. This will mean the raspberries are on the top. Leave to cool.
Recipe for Chocolate Glaze:
Ingredients:
250g dark chocolate, chopped
125g unsalted butter, chopped.
Method:
- Place all ingredients into a medium size microwave safe mixing bowl.
- Heat on high for 1 minute. Remove and stir until smooth. You may need another 30 seconds. Stir until smooth. Then give an extra stir just to make sure the butter and chocolate are completely blended.
This is by no means a quick fix recipe. However, the extra time and effort needed for baking this cake is definitely worth it. Happy baking!