This cake is an ode to my husband who thinks there is no better combination than chocolate and Guinness. He loves his chocolate and is always partial to a pint of Guinness so this is a match made in dessert heaven. The Guinness beer adds a richness to the cake and you can not taste the stout. This recipe was inspired by Nigella Lawson's Chocolate Guinness Cake.

INGREDIENTS

200g high quality dark chocolate

200g castor sugar

180g unsalted butter

200ml Guinness beer

125g plain flour

40g cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

3 large eggs

1 pinch salt

1 handful raspberries (optional)

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C (Gas Mark 4).
2. Line a 23cm cake tin with baking paper.
3. Melt the chocolate and butter using a double boiler.
4. Sift all the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
5. Once the chocolate butter mixture is melted, stir it in with the dry ingredients.
6. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and add it to the mixture until well-combined.
7. Pour the batter into the tin.
8. Place the raspberries on the top (they will fall into the cake during the baking).
9. Bake for 40 mins or until the cake is cooked through.
10. Let the cake cool and serve with fresh raspberries and cream.

You could bake this cake plain without the raspberries and make a cream cheese frosting like Nigella did.