Nigella Lawson’s Winter Wonderland Cake

Ingredients

• 150g unsalted butter,
• 1 (100g) bar dark chocolate 70% Cocoa,
• 100g soft dark sugar
• 125g caster sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 200g plain pre-sieved flour
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 50g cocoa
• ½ tsp fine salt, plus a pinch
• 2 large eggs, plus 2 large egg whites
• 50g soured cream 
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 150g frozen raspberries
• 150g golden syrup
• ½ tsp lemon juice

Method

• Preheat the oven to 180ºC/160ºC fan/gas 4. Grease 2 x 20 cm sandwich tins (preferably not loose-bottomed) with butter and line the bases with circles of baking paper. 

• Over low heat, start melting the butter in a heavy-based saucepan of 22-23 cm diameter. Put the kettle on. Tip the bashed-up chocolate pieces into the pan, and when the butter and chocolate are all but completely melted, pour in 250ml freshly boiled water, followed by the muscovado sugar and 125g of the caster sugar, stirring very gently to get rid of any lumps. When you have a smooth liquid, take the pan off the heat and leave the mixture to cool a little.

• Meanwhile, measure the baking powder, flour, bicarb, cocoa powder and ½ tsp salt into a bowl. Loosely whisk the 2 eggs, soured cream and vanilla extract together in a measuring jug.

• Tip the dry ingredients into the saucepan, and whisk slowly and carefully until smooth. Then gradually whisk in your jug of wet ingredients until everything’s incorporated and the batter is dark and glossy. 

• Divide the batter equally between the prepared tins, and bake in the oven for 18-20 mins: the top of the cakes should be set (don’t worry about the cracks) and coming away from the tins at the edges. A cake tester will come out mostly dry but still slightly smudged with chocolate. 

• Leave to cool on a rack for 15 mins or until you can handle the tins without oven gloves. Turn the cakes out, peel off the baking paper and leave until cold. 

• While you wait, tip the frozen raspberries onto a lipped plate in one layer and leave to thaw. 

• For the icing, put a little bit of water into the pan and bring to a simmer. Put the egg whites into a wide-ish heatproof bowl that will fit over your pan.

• You want the gentle steam from the water to heat the base of the bowl, but no water should touch it. Add the golden syrup, remaining 125g caster sugar, lemon juice and a pinch of salt and, using an electric hand-held whisk, beat the mixture vigorously for 5 mins: it starts off rather yellowy and very liquid, but when the 5 mins are up, you will have a firm, thick, voluminous and snowy meringue mixture. Lift the bowl immediately off the saucepan and place it on the cool kitchen surface.

• Sit one of the sponges, domed side down, on a cake stand or plate – 23 cm diameter at most, or it will look lost – and spread enough of the icing to give you a layer about 1 cm thick. Then top with the thawed raspberries, leaving a pure white ring of icing about 2 cm wide all around the edge.

• Gently set the other sponge, domed side uppermost, on top. Ice the top and sides, using a couple of spatulas for ease, swirling the top and smoothing the sides as best you can.

• Leave from 30 minutes up to 1½ hours before you slice into it.