When I found the recipe of these chocolate-raspberry-poppy seed squares, I didn’t even think that they would be so gorgeous. They are really addictive, my family asked me to keep them in the repertoire. There’s no fuss about the batter, it’s very easy to make, just mix everything together, and it can go in the oven. Raspberry jam can be replaced with any other sourish fruit jam you prefer or you have on the pantry shelf. Note the cake has to be cool completely before you glaze its top.

Ingredients:

• 200 g (~7 oz) ground poppy seeds
• 100 g (~3/4 cup) flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 140 g (~2/3 cup) soft butter
• 100 g (~1/2 cup) sugar
• 4 eggs
• 6 tbsp raspberry jam
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 100 g (~3 1/2 oz) semisweet dark chocolate
• 100 ml (~1/2 cup) whipping cream

For the glaze:

• 100 g (~3 1/2 oz) semisweet dark chocolate
• 100 ml (~1/2 cup) whipping cream
• 1 tbsp ground poppy seeds + 1/4 tbsp powdered sugar

Size of the baking pan: 24×34 cm (9×13 inch)

Butter and flour a baking pan. Preheat the oven to 180°C / 356°F.

Cream the butter with the egg yolks and sugar. Add ground poppy seeds, flour, baking powder, vanilla and cream, and whisk until well combined. Mix in the raspberry jam, then grate the dark chocolate into the batter. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, and gently fold into the batter. Pour the batter into the baking pan and bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Once the cake is cool, make the glaze by melting the chocolate and combining with cream. Pour the glaze over the top and cover evenly. Sprinkle top with a tablespoon of ground poppy seeds sweetened with powdered sugar.