Chocolate raspberry terrine recipe

This delicious and impressive chocolate raspberry terrine combines chocolate mousse, alcohol-soaked cake and fresh raspberries in one mouth-watering dessert. 

Traditionally a terrine is a savoury dish, but this pudding plays with the idea of it but for a sweet, chocolatey dessert. All the the ingredients are packed into an oblong tin, then turned out to create a long, sliceable pudding. It's perfect for sharing with friends and family, and it's an ideal dinner party or Sunday lunch pudding. You can prepare it well in advance and all you need to do before serving is turn it out and dust with cocoa power and chocolate shavings, then arrange some extra raspberries around it for decoration. Don't forget to leave at least three hours for the pudding to chill and set before serving. 

Ingredients

• 2 large free-range eggs
• 50g caster sugar
• Few drops of vanilla essence
• 40g plain flour
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• 25g butter, melted and cooled
• 175g good-quality dark chocolate
• 300ml double cream
• 2 tbsp brandy
• 1 tsp instant coffee granules dissolved in 75ml boiling water
• 400g fresh raspberries
• Cocoa powder
• Chocolate curls
• Extra raspberries, to decorate

Method

1. Make the chocolate sponge first. Preheat the oven to 190°C/Fan oven 170˚C/Gas Mark 5. Place the eggs, sugar and vanilla essence in a mixing bowl and whisk with an electric mixer until very thick and pale – the mixture should hold its shape on the surface if you drop a spoonful on to it. Sift the flour and cocoa powder over the surface and fold in quickly and lightly, then fold in the melted butter. Pour into a greased and base-lined 10 x 30 x 7.5cm loaf tin – it will only just half fill it – and bake for 25–30 minutes until well risen and firm to the touch. Turn out on to a wire rack to cool.
2. To make the mousse, break up the chocolate and place in a small bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until melted, then cool slightly. Whip the cream until floppy then whisk in half the cooled chocolate. Fold in the remaining chocolate with a metal spoon.
3. To assemble the terrine, cut the cake in half horizontally and place one half back in the loaf tin. Mix the brandy and coffee together and sprinkle half over the cake in the tin. Spread half the raspberries over the cake and top with chocolate mousse. Level the surface, top with the remaining raspberries and arrange the other half of the cake on top. Sprinkle with the rest of the brandy and coffee.
4. Cover the terrine with foil, arrange weights along the foil (cans of beans are ideal) and chill for several hours. To serve, run a knife that has been dipped in hot water around the edges of the terrine, then carefully turn it out on to a serving plate. Dust with cocoa powder and arrange chocolate curls and raspberries on top. When ready to serve, cut the layered terrine with a warm knife.

Top tip for making this chocolate raspberry terrine

Make sure the terrine is really chilled to make it easier to turn out. If it collapses a bit, hide any cracks with the cocoa and chocolate curls. If you want to save time, you could use a bought chocolate sponge loaf and just cut pieces to fit. Make chocolate curls using a vegetable peeler and a thick bar of dark chocolate.

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