Makes 1 cake

• 1 cup sunflower oil
• 400g dark brown sugar
• 4 eggs
• 250g courgettes, grated
• ½ cup sour cream
• 300g self-raising flour
• 60g cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• Pinch of salt

For the icing

• 1 cup sour cream
• 160g dark chocolate, melted
• 200g icing sugar, sifted

For the filling

• 1 cup cream, whisked
• 100g raspberries, lightly mashed with a fork
• Berries & pomegranate rubies for garnishing

1 Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Grease and line a 23cm round springform cake tin.
2 Place the oil, sugar and eggs in a bowl and beat for 4–5 minutes, or until pale and creamy.
3 Stir in the grated courgettes and sour cream.
4 Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt; stir well to combine.
5 Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 80–90 minutes. Allow to cool completely before turning out.
6 For the icing: Whisk together all the ingredients until smooth.
7 For the filling: Stir together the cream and raspberries.
8 Cut the cake in half and fill with the cream mixture. Gently top the filling with the remaining half of the cake.
9 Spread chocolate icing on the sides and top of the cake, scatter with berries and pomegranate rubies and serve.

Words: Justine Kiggen, Fairlady magazine
Image: Anel van der Merwe