Chocolate and blueberry cake

I have a bit of an obsession with blueberries and try to put them in as many recipes as possible, they have a gorgeous tart flavour when raw which lightens up a rich cake beautifully, and when cooked their sweetness and bright purple colour is irresistible!
I had an idea for a cake which looked like a giant version of a mini sandwich cake, people always seem to create mini versions of things, which are dead cute, but being cake obsessed I wanted more!


So to make this cake you’ll need:

For the sponge

• 175g butter, softened
• 3 eggs
• 175g caster sugar
• 175g self-raising flour
• 50g cocoa powder
• 1tsp baking powder
• ½tsp vanilla extract
• For the ganache:
• 100ml double cream
• 120g dark chocolate

For the filling

• Double cream (about 100-150ml)
• Blueberries or any other soft fruit you fancy!

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C and grease and line a 25cm long rectangular baking tin.
2. Cream the sugar and butter in a large bowl until fluffy and light, add the eggs one at a time and continue to beat with an electric whisk for about 5 minutes until the beaters leave a trail in the mixture and it is airy and very pale.
3. Sift half the flour in and fold to combine, then sift in the rest of the dry ingredients, combine and stir in the vanilla extract.
4. Put the mixture into the tin and bake for around 30 minutes or until well risen and a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool for 5 minutes in the tin, and then turn onto a wire rack and cool completely.
5. Make your ganache – the amounts I give make enough to cover the top sponge as it would be too rich for me to cover it all, and I like to see the filling but you can double the amount to cover the whole cake if you prefer. Heat the cream slowly in a heavy bottomed pan on the hob, and grate/finely chop the chocolate into a heatproof bowl. When the cream is nearly boiling remove it from the heat and immediately pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for about a minute before stirring gently to combine. Let this cool down to just above room temperature.
6. Whip up your cream for the filling – I like mine fairly softly whipped, but as much as you like really! Now you’re ready to assemble your cake!
7. Cut the rectangular cake in half so you are left with 2 squares (you might need to even them up a bit/level the top off. Put half of your whipped cream onto one square of cake, and then a layer of berries. Top with the rest of the cream and the other sponge – give it a gentle press on top to squish it all together.
8. Using a palette knife smooth the ganache all over the top and sides of the cake, while it is still soft you can decorate it with anything you like, I used these adorable edible gold stars which you can buy online from baking supply sites.
9. Put the cake in the fridge for about an hour or two to set the ganache firm and then dig in! It’s a really indulgent and fun celebration cake.This cake would be lovely with strawberries, raspberries, pear or a mixture, just pick your favourite!