The birthday cycle has started again and that means the birthday girl gets the choice of any cake she wants. This January birthday was made complete with a chocolate raspberry cake. A rich, dark, fudgy chocolate cake filled with raspberries. Topped with a good dusting of icing sugar and a dollop of cream, it makes a perfect summer cake.
Having your birthday on the last day of January is fraught with difficulties. It’s always hot! In fact it’s usually one of the hottest days of the year, and generally marks a turn in the weather to cooler temperatures. (Not this year!) We’ve gone down the road of ice cream cake in the past, trying to avoid the baking process. It was delicious and everything the gelato shop promised it would be. But it wasn’t the same. So we continue the baking tradition despite the weather forecast.
Baking in really hot weather is a problem for a number of reasons: a) you get really hot doing it; b) it heats up the house more than the sun; and c) it plays havoc with dusting the top of the cake with icing sugar. As soon as the icing sugar hits the cake the heat makes it magically disappear. First world problem, I know. Initiative to the rescue…sprinkle the icing sugar on the individual slices once the cake is cut. The down side – the photos aren’t as pretty as they should be. Enjoy!
Make sure you dust the top with icing sugar! Looks much prettier (and covers the holes from the birthday candles…oops)
- 320 g dark chocolate
- 160 g caster sugar
- 160 g unsalted butter, chopped into small squares
- 5 eggs, separated
- 40 g plain flour, sifted
- 1½ cups frozen raspberries
- icing sugar
- whipped cream
- extra raspberries
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius. Line a 23cm round springform tin.
- Melt the chocolate, sugar and butter in a double boiler. Remove from the heat, and stir to combine. Leave to cool slightly, then whisk in the egg yolks one at a time.
- Beat the egg whites until they hold firm peaks. Fold the flour and half the egg whites into the chocolate mixture, then carefully fold in the remaining egg whites.
- Add the raspberries and mix through very gently.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared tin. The frozen raspberries tend to stick together, so you make sure they are evenly distributed across the tin.
- Bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cake completely in the tin.
- To serve: remove the cake from tin and place on a serving plate. Cover with a coating of sifted icing sugar. Serve with whipped cream and candles.
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