The original name of this cake in my recipe book is a Basic Chocolate Cake. I feel it deserves so much more so I have taken the liberty of re-naming it. Heck! It's my book. I get to do what I want! Henceforth and forever more, let this cake be known as The Raspberry Chocolate Cake. It is, indeed, basic to put together, which is a blessing for when we don't have much time and/or an almost walking 13 month old is hanging on to our leg, but this cake was so very good it disappeared very quickly indeed. I actually had to make a second one because the first one was eaten before I had time to ice it, let alone photograph it. And that was also a blessing because.....well, it was a double blessing actually because it meant that we got to enjoy it all over again and also because it gave me a sense of what the cake was like so I had an idea of how to embellish it as the recipe gave no instructions for icing or decoration.
And now to the music to go with this fine cake. I have to confess I actually wasn't thinking of, or listening to music this time around. I thought about linking to My Friend The Chocolate Cake (is that not a wonderful name for a band?) but that is just way too obvious....although I did just link to it didn't I? Instead, I thought that today I would lead you to this song by an American folk singer, Elizabeth Mitchell. We listen to a fair bit of her music here but this song in particular is one of my favourites and always lifts my mood. So now you have a choice. As always, I will give you a moment to choose your link and settle in with your music, remembering of course, to open the link in a different tab so you can read and listen at the same time...................................................... and, away we go.
Raspberry Chocolate Cake
Ingredients:
125 g butter
3/4 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp raspberry jam
1tbsp boiling water
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour (or substitute with plain flour and 3 tsp baking powder)
1/2 cup milk
Method:
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius / 375 degrees Fahrenheit, adjusting accordingly if you have a fan-forced oven which, I may have mentioned before, I do not.
Grease a lamington tin or 2 x 8" (20cm) sandwich tins and line the base with baking paper if you feel so inclined, which I usually do because even though I grease cake tins well, cakes always seem to stick to the base if I don't line them with paper. I have just, in this very moment, had a flashback of Mum cutting cake tin linings from brown paper bags which was a good way of recycling them and saved buying baking paper. That is what I was brought up with but had forgotten all about it until now. Gosh, it's a long time since I've done that. Anyway, I digress. Sorry about that. So back to the making of this cake.....
In a small bowl, mix the cocoa powder, raspberry jam and boiling water to a smooth paste and leave to cool.
Meanwhile, cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl. Add eggs one at a time, beating well as you add each one. Add the chocolate mixture and stir that in.
Now sift the flour at least three times - yes, three. And yes it does seem to make a difference so is worth doing. Add this to the cake mixture alternately with the milk and you will have a lovely light cake mix that tastes just delicious. However, resist the temptation to eat it all raw and pour it into your prepared cake tin/s. Bake for around 30-40 minutes, keeping an eye on it for the last bit. Allow to cool, then either eat or decorate it.
I cut the cake into two layers and spread some raspberry jam and whipped cream, then topped it off with some basic chocolate icing and chopped up strawberries, lightly dusted with sifted icing sugar. I had planned to pile it with fresh raspberries since they are coming into season now but at $11.50 a punnet I was a little (!!!) put off and opted for strawberries instead which did a very decent job.
What's to like about this cake? Everything. Easy to make and even easier to eat.
What's not to like? Honestly cannot think of a thing unless one is on a diet.
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