Chocolate & Raspberry Sponge Cake

This is an incredibly simple chocolate cake recipe, and makes a pleasingly light cake. The filling of fresh raspberries and chocolate buttercream makes it feel a bit more special, but does mean you need to eat it up quickly.


Chocolate & Raspberry Sponge Cake Recipe
Serves 8

For the cake:
6oz (165g) butter
6oz (165g) caster sugar
3 eggs
5½oz (150g) self-raising flour
½oz (15g) cacao powder
½tsp baking powder
¼tsp vanilla essence

For the filling:
2oz (55g) butter
4oz (110g) icing sugar
½tsp vanilla essence
2tbsp chocolate spread (e.g. Nutella)
4oz (110g) fresh raspberries

Extra icing sugar for dusting

1. Line two 6in (15cm) cake tins with greaseproof paper, and preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F)
2. Cream butter and sugar together with the back of a spoon.
3. Add the vanilla essence, then add the eggs one by one, whisking until combined.
4. Beat the mixture until light and bubbly (I use a hand whisk as my electric one is too powerful).
5. Sift the flour, cacao and baking powder into the bowl, and fold in gently until no lumps or powder remain.
6. Divide the cake mix between the two cake tins (you can weigh it out if you're not comfortable doing this by eye).
7. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the surface is springy and a knife comes out clean, then remove from the tins to cool on a wire rack.
8. To make the chocolate buttercream, whip the butter until soft, add the vanilla essence and chocolate spread, and cream in the icing sugar. Beat until light and fluffy.
9. Wash the raspberries and pat dry.
10. Once the cakes have cooled, spread buttercream across the top of one cake. (You can slice the top first to level it if it's extremely uneven, but buttercream will cover a multitude of sins.)
11. Press the raspberries into the buttercream, and place the second cake on top.
12. Dust the top of the cake with icing sugar before serving.