I had to make a few changes to the filling and
the ganache since I couldn’t find any fresh cream in four stores! So I bought
some whipped cream from a cafe and then improvised with what I had on hand.
Also, the buttercream piping is from my neighbourhood gourmet baker Not Just  Desserts, who very sweetly agreed to lend me a piping cone, when I
sent her a late night SOS! So this has been a collaborative cake so to speak
and here’s the recipe. 

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Instead of making one big cake, I halved the ingredients
and baked two separate cakes, which I then filled with the raspberry filling.
You can make one cake and slice it into 2 or 4 layers. This cake also gave me
the chance to try out the vanilla beans I picked up in Kerala and I’m so glad I
bought so many of them!

• 600g All-purpose Flour
• 350g Caster Sugar
• 100g Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
• 100g Dark Chocolate, chopped
• 260ml Vegetable Oil
• 700ml hot Water
• 30ml White Vinegar
• 2tsp Baking Powder
• One Vanilla Bean, scraped
• A pinch of Salt

For
the Filling

• 100ml Fresh Cream, whipped to medium stiff
  peaks
• 100g fresh Raspberries (or Strawberries)
• 50g Sugar
• 1tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
• ½ a Vanilla Bean, scraped

For
the Icing

• 50g Dark Chocolate, chopped
• 50g Raspberry Compote (see recipe posted here
  earlier)
• Some Milk

How to:

• Begin with the filling as it needs
  time to cool down. I made this a day in advance and refrigerated it till
  needed.
• Place the raspberries, sugar,
  vanilla and balsamic vinegar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and simmer. Stir occasionally
  and cook till it acquires a jam-like consistency. Allow to cool completely and
  set aside.

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• Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease a
  22cm (or 24cm) springform pan and sprinkle some flour in it.
• Sift together the flour, sugar,
  cocoa powder, salt and baking powder. Add the vanilla and set aside.
• Combine water, oil and vinegar in
  a large cup.
• Melt the chocolate on a double
  boiler and set aside.
• Add the water and oil mixture to
  the dry ingredients and incorporate using the cut and fold technique. Add the melted
  chocolate and mix well.
• Turn the batter into the cake tin
  and bake for until a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean. If you’re
  baking 2 separate cakes, it will take about 35-40 minutes and about 50-60
  minutes for one large cake.
• Cool the cake(s) completely and
  slice into layers.

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• While the cakes are cooling, make
  the icing. Melt chocolate on a double boiler and mix raspberry compote. Add
  couple of tablespoons of mix till you get a spreading consistency.
• For the filling, combine the
  raspberry ‘jam’ with whipped cream and slather on one cake layer and pile the
  layers together.

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• Refrigerate for about 30 minutes
  and then spread the chocolate-raspberry icing on top and on the sides, covering
  the cake completely.

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• Decorate the cake as you wish.

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