recipes++

Rich Chocolate And Summer Fruits Cake

Serves 8-10

Ingredients

Cake

  • 50g cocoa
  • 6 tbsp boiling water
  • 3 large eggs
  • 175g self raising flour
  • 1 rounded tsp of baking powder
  • 100g of soft baking margarine or softened butter
  • 275g golden caster sugar

Icing and filling

  • 300ml double cream
  • 2 tbsp Bailey’s Irish Cream, Grand Marnier or brandy
  • 450g fresh summer fruits (e.g blueberries, raspberries, strawberries)

Icing sugar to decorate

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 160ºC
  2. Grease two 20cm sandwich tins and lines bases with baking parchment.
  3. Mix cocoa with boiling water to form a smooth paste.
  4. Add the remaining ingredients and whisk until smooth. It should form a thickish batter, don’t over whisk.
  5. Divide mixture between tins and bake for 25-30 mins until well risen and just shrinking from the sides.
  6. Let the cakes cool in their tins for about 10 mins, then loosen the edges and turn out onto a wire rack. Leave until cold.
  7. Whip the cream until it forms soft peaks and then fold in the alcohol.
  8. Spread half over one cake, scatter third of fruits over top. Gently place the other cake on top and repeat. Decorate with icing sugar.