Raspberry Chocolate Cake

I was really tired and stressed when I got home today and I just couldn’t face doing the pile of work I should have been doing. So I decided the best way to relieve stress would be to bake. Yes, I know it isn’t the healthiest way (since I eat what I bake), but it makes me feel better and it is productive, so why not!

Anyway, this is a recipe I found in Nigella Lawson’s How to be a Domestic Goddess. She described it as a great and easy cake to make after work. I figured that fit the bill. Her recipe was actually for Orange Chocolate Cake, flavored with orange marmalade, but I only have the very end of a jar of marmalade, so I substituted good quality raspberry jam. It was a good choice! The cake is incredibly moist (possibly because I was tired and wanted to eat it already so I took it out 5 or 10 minutes before I should have) and really interesting. As my pops said, “you expect chocolate and you get raspberry”. You do taste some chocolate, but the overwhelming flavor is the raspberry jam. Don’t let that scare you off, it isn’t overly sweet and even pops who isn’t a jam fan LOVED it. It really is excellent and simple to make (you don’t even need a mixer). I can’t wait to try it with marmalade and let you know how it is.