Chocolate and raspberries combine for a flavour bomb in your mouth. This rich chocolate cake smothered in drizzly chocolate icing and scattered with fresh and freeze-dried raspberries is soooo easy to make, and is a real show-stopper.

EASY CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH RASPBERRIES TWO WAYS

Recipe by Natasha Shaw, a parent of Wahroonga Public SchoolCourse: All Recipes, Baking, Cakes/Muffins, Entertaining, TreatsDifficulty: Easy

Serves

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

hour

Other

Topping option

Ingredients

125g butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups caster sugar
2 eggs
1 1/3 cups self-raising flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2/3 cup water
Chocolate drizzle icing
1 cup icing sugar mixture
2 tbs cocoa powder
20g butter, softened
2-3 tbs milk

Method

Preheat oven to 180C/160C fan-forced. Grease a deep 20cm round cake tin and line with baking paper.
Place the butter, vanilla, sugar and eggs in the bowl of an electric mixer. Sift in the flour. Beat on low speed until ingredients are combined. Increase speed to medium and beat for 3 mins or until mixture is smooth and pale.
Transfer mixture to the prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool cake in pan for 5 mins before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the chocolate drizzle icing, sift the icing sugar and cocoa into a bowl. Add the butter and 2 tbs milk. Using an electric mixer on low speed, beat until just combined. Increase speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes, adding a little more milk if you like until the desired “drizzly” consistency is reached.
Place cooled cake on a serving plate. Spread icing over the top, allowing it to drip down the side. Pile raspberries in the centre of the cake, then crumble over the freeze-dried raspberries. Cut into slices to serve.