Rich Chocolate Raspberry Cake

This rich chocolate raspberry cake is a great delicious cake for special occasions. The raspberry mixes perfectly with the chocolate. Raspberry jam mixture fills the middle of this cake, with not-too-rich, but delicious chocolate cake layering it, with chocolate raspberry frosting on the top.

Ingredients: (makes two nine-inch cakes for stacking)

BATTER:

1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

½ cup chocolate chips

¼ cup cocoa powder

½ cup coffee, hot

1 ¾ cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 ¾ teaspoons baking soda

4 large eggs + 2 egg yolks

½ cup oil

1 cup buttermilk

¼ cup butter, softened

FILLING: (Not shown in pictures)

1/2 cup frozen raspberries

1/4 cup raspberry jam

FROSTING:

1 cup chocolate chips (8 oz)

⅔ cup heavy cream

4 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ cup sugar

1 teaspoon corn syrup

1 cup frozen raspberries

Grease and flour two 9 inch cake pans, and line with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a saucepan full of water over medium heat, in an empty medium heat-proof bowl, pour hot coffee. Pour in the baking chocolate and cocoa powder and stir until chocolate is melted. Pour in sugar, and stir until it is dissolved. Mix oil in well. Remove from heat and set aside.

NOTE: this contraption (the saucepan with water in it, on medium heat, with a medium bowl on-top of the water) is essentially almost like a double boiler in the way that it works.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside for later.

Prepare buttermilk for pouring. If you don't have buttermilk, just use an easy substitute: In a measuring glass as shown, pour in one tablespoon of vinegar, and then fill the rest up with milk until it reads as 1 cups worth. Set aside.

This process is called 'ribboning' and is a way to make cakes light and fluffy in texture. Put in eggs and egg yolks into stand mixer, if you have one, and beat for a few seconds, until mixed up. Add sugar, and whip on high for a couple minutes, until the mixture is doubled in size, and light and fluffy.

Go straight on to the next step from here.

Now is the time to add everything you've prepared: Add the chocolate mixture and softened butter to the sugar egg mixture, and mix until combined. Do not whip. just stir slowly into it.

Then add flour and butter mixture alternately, first flour, then buttermilk, then flour, etc., ultimately starting and ending with the flour. Scrape the sides and keep mixing for a few more seconds, until just combined. Do not overmix.

Pour in equal amounts into the prepared cake pans. Bake in preheated oven (350 degrees) for at least 25 minutes, continually checking at and after the time said.

The cakes are done when a toothpick inserted directly in the middle comes out with only a few moist crumbs.

When cakes are done, turn them upside down on a cooling rack, taking off pan, and then flipping the cakes right-side up again. Let them sit this way to cool for around two hours before attempting to put the frosting on.

Place frozen raspberries in a microwave safe bowl, and heat in ten second intervals, mashing well in between until raspberries are just like puree (as shown in pic).

Mix these crushed raspberries with the raspberry jam, and set aside.

To make the raspberry juice, which will go in frosting:

using the same process described in the last step, mash frozen raspberries in between ten second intervals in microwave, until it is just juicy mash. Strain using cheesecloth or a sieve (cheesecloth is better) into a bowl to obtain the raspberry juice (bottom pic).

This process is very similar to making ganache, just a bit different, with a bit different ingredients.

Melt heavy cream and butter in saucepan, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and stir in sugar and corn syrup until sugar is dissolved.

Chocolate chips should be in a medium, deep heatproof bowl. Pour this hot heavy cream mixture over the chocolate chips, and stir until chocolate chips are melted.

Stir in the raspberry juice, and then place bowl into an ice bath, as shown above. Stir constantly until frosting is cold, and starts hardening to the sides.

Take out of ice bath, and whip with a beater until frosting is light and fluffy.

Go onto the next instructions immediately before it melts:

Start with the first layer of cake. Spread all of the raspberry jam mixture onto this layer. Then carefully put some of the frosting on top of this. Place the second layer on top of it. Then ice the rest of the cake, sides, and top completely with all the remaining chocolate-raspberry frosting.

A cake frosting knife as shown in pic is very helpful in this situation.

Refridgerate 20 minutes before serving

Store in fridge, completely plastic wrapped to keep it from drying out.

Enjoy this rich chocolate raspberry cake!