Wholemeal chocolate cake

A chocolate cake for those who enjoy wholemeal bakes – and for everyone else, too. This cake is so light, delicate and fluffy that you would never guess it contains wholemeal flour. It proves that baking can be a little healthier without sacrificing flavour. The only changes I made to the original recipe were a slight increase in the amount of chocolate and the addition of cocoa powder. Without these adjustments, the cake would not have been chocolatey enough. Highly recommended, especially with Valentine’s Day just around the corner ;).

Ingredients for the wholemeal chocolate cake:

• 80 g dark chocolate
• 1½ cups wholemeal plain flour
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 60 g butter
• 1¼ cups light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• ½ cup soured cream
• ½ cup boiling water

All ingredients should be at room temperature.

Sift the wholemeal flour, cocoa powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a bowl. Mix together and set aside. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water or in the microwave. Leave to cool slightly, but keep it runny.

Using a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition until incorporated. Add the vanilla extract, then pour in the melted chocolate and mix until combined. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the soured cream, folding gently with a spatula until just combined. Do not overmix. Finally, pour in the boiling water and stir gently with the spatula until incorporated.

Pour the batter (it will be very thin) into a 23 cm round cake tin lined with baking paper on the base.

Bake at 180°C for approximately 30–40 minutes, or longer if necessary, testing with a skewer. The skewer may come out slightly moist with a few crumbs attached, but there should be no traces of raw batter. Remove from the oven, leave to cool completely, then pour over the chocolate glaze.

Decorate with fresh raspberries, if desired.

Ingredients for the chocolate glaze:

• 40 g butter
• 100 g dark chocolate

Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add the broken chocolate and warm gently, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth and glossy. Pour over the cooled cake and decorate as desired.

Enjoy!