February is the month of love, and inspired by our incredibly romantic Gin of the Month box, we’re busy planning everything we need for the perfect night in this Valentine’s Day!

Of course, delicious cocktails are a given, but a special day also calls for extra special indulgences - and what could be more divinely decadent than these extremely naughty-but-nice chocolate and raspberry red velvet cake?

Naturally, we’ve made this scrummy dessert even more delicious by infusing it with just a little raspberry gin liqueur and topping it with a sweet cream cheese icing! Basically, you’re going to win the heart of absolutely anyone if you bake this for them this Valentine’s Day! You’re welcome, hehe!

Boozy Chocolate & Raspberry Red Velvet Cake

4 medium free-range eggs
125g caster sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
20g cocoa powder
100g self-raising flour
Small tube of red food colouring gel

3-4 tbsp raspberry jam
Small punnet of fresh raspberries
50ml raspberry gin liqueur

1 tub smooth cream cheese (e.g. Philadelphia)
400g icing sugar

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees (gas mark 4). Grease and line a springform cake tin.

Whisk together your eggs and caster sugar until the mixture has thickened, then add the vanilla essence, cocoa powder and flour and fold together until all the elements are combined. Add the red food colouring (we used a whole small tube to get a really vibrant, rich red colour, but you can use less if you prefer a more subtle pink shade).

Bake in the oven for 25 minutes, or until the cake has risen and is springy to the touch. Leave to cool inside the tin for five minutes before popping out of the tin and leaving to cool fully, on a wire rack.

While the cake cools, make your frosting by mixing together your cream cheese and icing sugar until smooth, then popping in the fridge. You may need to add more or less icing sugar depending on how stiff your brand of cheese is.

Take about two-thirds of the raspberries and pour over a little of the raspberry gin liqueur and leave them to soak.

When your cake is cool, carefully slice it in half (width-ways) so you have two evenly sized sponges. Drizzle the remaining raspberry gin liqueur over the inner surface of each sponge so they soak up the flavours. This will add both flavour and moisture to the sponges, which are fatless, so need a little extra help for a delicious moist texture.

Now spread one cake with raspberry jam and spoon over your marinaded raspberries. Spread the inside of the other sponge with a layer of your cream cheese icing and sandwich the cakes together.

Carefully spread the remaining icing over the top of your cake and decorate with a few more raspberries before serving.