Decadent Chocolate Raspberry Cake

I created this recipe for my brother’s birthday last month and boy was it tasty!  If you love chocolate you will love this cake.  Heck, if you don’t love chocolate you’ll love this cake!

I’ll break down the recipe into it’s three parts.  Feel free to mix and match other cake flavors or fillings and come up with your own recipe!

Chocolate Cake

• 1 1/2 sticks of butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups of sugar
• 2 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs
• 2 cups of AP flour
• 1 tsp of baking soda
• 1 tsp of baking powder
• 1/4 tsp of salt
• 1 cup of cocoa powder
• 1 cup of buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease/flour two 9 inch pans.  Beat the butter, sugar and vanilla extract in a stand or hand mixer.  Add eggs one at a time and beat well.  Fold in the dry ingredients alternating with the buttermilk with a rubber spatula.

Once fully mixed divide batter into the two pans and bake for 35-40 minutes.  Be sure to check if it is done by inserting a toothpick.  Allow to cool completely.

Raspberry Coulis Filling

• 8 oz of fresh raspberries
• 1 tbsp of sugar or to preference of sweetness
• 1 tbsp of lemon juice

I love to use an immersion blender for this recipe, but a food processor or blender works too.  Blend ingredients for a few pulses but leave a few whole raspberries and pieces.

Chocolate Ganache

• 10 oz of dark chocolate chips 
• 10 fl oz of heavy cream

Bring cream to a boil in a heavy saucepan.  Place chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl.  As soon as you see rigorous bubbles take the pan off the stove.   Pour the cream over the chocolate and allow to sit for 30 seconds.  Next whisk the mixture until all the chocolate is melted.  Allow to cool till the ganache is the texture of frosting.

Once you have all your components it’s time to build the cake!  Spread the coulis filling onto one cake layer and create a boundary with a little chocolate ganache. Gently place second later on top.

Cover the entire cake in chocolate ganache.  Don’t worry about the icing being perfect, it actually looks a little better with a “rustic” style.  Garnish with a few fresh raspberries and your done!

If you have any extra raspberry coulis, drizzle on slice of cake.  So good!  This is perfect for a birthday or any special occasion.  You can use the same technique for white chocolate ganache or strawberry coulis filling!