300g / 2 cups raisins

500ml / 2 cups water

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

35g / 1/3 cup cocoa powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground clove

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

250g butter chopped

330g / 1 1/2 cups caster sugar

4 eggs

225g / 1 1/2 cups plain flour

150g / 1 cup self-raising flour

CHOCOLATE GLAZE

200g dark chocolate chopped coarsely

100g butter chopped

Preparation time 20 minutes cooking time 1 hour 20 minutes (plus cooling and standing time)

1. Preheat oven to moderate (180 degrees C / 160 degrees C for fan oven).  Grease 24cm bundt pan well.

2. Combine raisins and the water in medium saucepan, bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.  Remove from heat, stir in soda, cocoa, spices and extract.  Cool to room temperature.

3. Beat butter and sugar in medium bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time beating until just combined between additions, stir in combined sifted flours and raisin mixture in two batches.

4. Spread mixture into pan, bake about 1 hour 10 minutes.  Stand cake 5 minutes turn onto wire rack to cool.

5. Stir ingredients for chocolate glaze in medium heatproof bowl over medium saucepan of simmering water until smooth.  Pour glaze over cooled cake, stand 30 minutes before serving.

TIP - Raisins and other dried fruits are generally 'plumped' to rehydrate them before being stirred into a cake mixture and baked, otherwise, the fruit is likely to remain as it is, dry, chewy and tough, rather then melt-in your-mouth luscious.  Any raisins that have clumped will also separate in the boiling water.  Craisins, fried sweetened cranberries, can re rehydrated exactly as the rainsins are and used instead in this recipe.