All images/ Mike Ahern
What to do on a welcome break from the world of work? Of course comfort food is always high up on my list of priorities and a cake is a great item to have in the house for those unexpected visits from friends seeking chat and a cuppa. So cake it was but it needed to have a Summery twist too, which is the reason I decided it had to be a chocolate raspberry sponge cake.
The sweet cream cheese frosting with raspberry flavouring offers a perfect partnering for the rich velvety chocolate cake. The pale pink frosting also looks so innocent against the darker sponge, creating a striking colour contrast. We have to get our colouring right, don't we?
Ingredients
(For the sponge)
180g Caster sugar
175g Unsalted butter
120g Self-raising flour
60g Cocoa powder
1tsp Baking powder
3 Large eggs
(For the frosting)
190g Icing sugar
130g Cream cheese
2tsp Raspberry jam
2-3 drops of pink food colouring
Dried raspberry pieces
How to make
Preheat the oven to 190oC and grease two 20cm baking tins. Begin by mixing together the butter and sugar until creamy. Next mix in the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt - add the eggs one at a time until all the ingredients have combined and you have a thick creamy batter. Evenly divide the batter into the two tins before placing in the oven for around 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and then leave to cool.
For the frosting, place the cream cheese in a bowl then add the icing sugar along with 2-3 drops of pink food colouring, blend these together until smooth. Spread some of the frosting over the bottom layer of cake before placing the second layer on top, then repeat with the top layer. I chose to sprinkle some dried raspberry pieces over the frosting but you could try some dark chocolate pieces if you are feeling uber-indulgent!
