Method

For the Belgium base, in a large bowl, with an electric hand/stand mixer, beat the coconut oil and brown sugar together for 2 minutes until whipped and fluffy. Add the golden syrup and beat until well-combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, mixed spice, ground cinnamon, ginger, and sea salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, followed by the milk, and mix to form a soft dough. Divide the dough in two, roll into balls, flatten into two thick discs, wrap loosely with clingfilm, and refrigerate for 45 minutes. 

As the base dough chills, make the raspberry jam. Place the raspberries and lemon juice in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once the raspberries are softened and mushy, add the sugar, stir to dissolve, then increase the heat to medium-high. Bring to the boil and cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the jam has thickened nicely (you can test this by placing a teaspoon on a plate. After around 2 minutes, when you push your finger into the jam it should wrinkle and feel thickened). Transfer to a bowl and set aside to cool (you can place in the fridge to speed up the process).

Preheat the oven to 150°C fan-forced (170°C conventional). Grease and line a standard square or rectangular baking tin (approx. 21cm x 21cm) with baking paper. Ensure the baking paper hangs over the edge so that you can lift the slice out of the tin after icing.

To assemble, once your dough has chilled, between two pieces of baking paper roll out each disc of dough so it is just big enough to cover the base of the tin (it should be approx. 5mm thick). Place one sheet of dough on the base of the lined tin, trimming and filling any holes, pressing to cover the base of the tin in an even layer. Spread the cooled raspberry jam over the top then carefully place the second sheet of dough on top, again trimming and filling any holes to try and cover the layer of jam in its entirety. This can be a bit fiddly – if the sheet of dough tears, just patch up any holes as best as you can to cover the jam in an even layer. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

For the raspberry icing, in a bowl,sift together the icing sugar and freeze-dried raspberry powder. Add 4 tbsp hot water, 1 tbsp at a time, mixing to form a soft, smooth icing. Spread the icing over the base and sprinkle with crushed freeze-dried raspberries. Place in the refrigerator for 1 hour to chill, then remove from the tin and cut into squares. Store at room temperature in an airtight container.