1. Preheat oven to 170/150 fan.
2. Sift together the cocoa, sugar and almonds and set aside.
3. Seperate the egg whites and whisk until it forms stiff peaks and set aside.
4. In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks and vanilla essence until pale in colour.
5. Using a metal spoon, add just one spoon of the stiff egg whites to the egg yolk mix and stir in. This method acclimatises the mixture.
6. Fold in the remaining egg whites to the mixture, being careful not to over mix.
7. Use a metal spoon to fold in the dry mixture into the batter, gently turning and folding the mixture together.
8. Line two 8 inch sandwich tins and evenly distribute the cake batter between the two. Place in the oven for 20-30 minutes. When baked a skewer should come out clean and the top should be springy. Allow to cool on a wire rack before adding filling.

Make the buttercream filling and frosting:

1. Use the flatbeaters on the hand mixer and place the softened butter, vanilla and cocoa into a large bowl, mixing slowly to combine.
2. Continue to mix and add the icing sugar a spoon at a time along with the 1-2 tsp of warm water for a looser consistency. More water can be added if required.
3. Once the acquired consistency has been acheived set aside. When the sponges have cooled use half the buttercream to sandwich the sponges together, then use the other half to spread over the top.
4. Decorate with fresh raspberries and dust with a little cocoa.

Top tips:

• 50-100g melted dark chocolate can be used in place of cocoa for the frosting, or the cake batter.
• Add half a punnet of crushed raspberries to the butter cream, and the remaining on top for decoration.
• Dust the tins with cocoa powder on top of the parchment before baking.