Chocolate Chip & Raspberry Frangipane Cake Bars GF

I didn't give into temptation and eat the beautiful bar of Santo Domingo organic fairtrade dark chocolate which I received to use in a blog post this month in support of Organic September. Instead I decided to use it in a raspberry ripple, chocolate chip cake. However, I left out one important ingredient and these cake bars are the result of that mistake!

Luxuriously rich and smooth, this bar of chocolate is one of the nicest organic dark chocolate bars I've tried and believe me I've tried a few!

I decided I would buy another bar because it would work beautifully in the chocolate chip version of my Grain & Nut Free Crunchy Cereal recipe.

I also thought I would create a chocolatey version of my Grain Free Raspberry Ripple Cake. The latter didn't materialise because I accidentally left out the bicarb! I wondered why it wasn't rising very much, then it dawned on me - 15 minutes after I'd put it in the oven! Eek! Too late, there was nothing much I could do about it but to wait and see how it turned out and I was so surprised by the result! I had created almondy cake bars AND since eating one today, I am SO pleased I made the cake this way because they're really lovely and such a change!

If you would like to make a more bouncy cake then simply add in half a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda. I used 60 grams of chocolate in the cake and drizzled 40 grams over the top and I would suggest that this is the minimum amount to use in the cake. So feel free to add more chips or more drizzle depending on how chocolatey you would like it!

Sainsbury's sent me a jar of organic honey to use this month which I also used in the cake.

Chocolate Chip & Raspberry Frangipane Cake Bars GF 

250g Ground Almonds
3 large eggs
3 tblsps extra virgin olive oil
80ml organic honey
1 tblsp pure vanilla extract (alcohol, water and vanilla only)
pinch salt
100-150 g (or more) organic dark chocolate for the chocolate chips

Ripple :

300g frozen raspberries
3 tblsps honey

Set the oven to 170° C (fan/convection oven) and line a 8" loose bottomed square cake tin with baking parchment. First, make the raspberry ripple. Tip the raspberries into a pan, add the honey, heat very slowly to bring out the juices then bring to the boil and simmer for about 20 mins to half an hour until it becomes thick.

Press through a sieve into a bowl and leave on one side to cool. Then, following the instructions for my basic sponge recipe, make the sponge mixture, leaving out the bicarbonate of soda (or not if you're making a deeper cake). Spoon the raspberry sauce into a plastic bag and snip off the corner.

 Chop the chocolate you are using in the cake into small pieces.

Stir the chocolate chips into the cake mixture and spread half of the mixture over the baking parchment. Pipe half the raspberry sauce over the top then repeat.

Place in the middle of the oven and bake for 10 minutes then turn down the heat to 160° C (fan/convection oven) for a further 35 to 40 minutes or until the top bounces back when pressed lightly.

Cool in the tin for about 15 minutes, then carefully lift out of the tin and onto a cooling tray. When the cake is cool. Melt the chocolate for the top of the cake in a bowl over some hot water. Using a teaspoon drizzle it up and down the cake.

Slice into bars and store wrapped in foil in the fridge, if there's any left!