Raspberry Chocolate Cake

This was inspired by this Raspberry Chocolate Cake over at Ambrosia Baking. However, I really do like my chocolate cake and frosting recipe, so I thought I would adapt them and add a delicious raspberry filling.

Raspberry filling

1 cup raspberry jam (about an entire small jar)
1 cup fresh raspberries
lemon or lime juice

This filling is a total cheat.

Mix the jam and fresh raspberries together with a fork. Add a squeeze of lemon or lime juice and stir. Taste and check for consistency. Cover and chill. This can be made two days in advance.*

Chocolate Cake

1 3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
2 cups sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk, shaken**
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla

1 cup coffee, fresh and hot

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (325 if using dark pans). Butter two 9-inch cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper, and butter the parchment and sides of the pan, sprinkling with cocoa powder or flour to ensure easy removal.

Sift together dry ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer. In a separate bowl, combine buttermilk, oil, egg, and vanilla, whisking to combine. With the mixer running on low speed, gradually pour in the wet ingredients into the dry goods. Scrape down the bowl. With the mixer continuing on low speed, pour in the hot coffee. Scrape and mix until combined and homogenous (the batter will be a bit thin).

Divide between the prepared pans and bake in the preheated oven for 27-32 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 30 minutes and then turn out to cool completely.

Chocolate Frosting

6 oz semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, melted and slightly cooled

1 cup butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup cocoa
2 - 2 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar

Cream the butter until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes on medium high speed. Mix in the vanilla until incorporated.

With the mixer running on low, slowly pour in the melted chocolate. Once incorporated, add the cocoa and half of the confectioner's sugar. Cream until smooth, scraping down the bowl as necessary. Add in the remaining confectioner's sugar based on your personal taste. Frost cake.

Assembly

Cut cake layers in half with a serrated knife. Place one layer on a cake board that is on a cake turner. Spread about 1/2 of the raspberry filling over the layer. Top with the second layer and spread about 1/2 cup frosting over. Top with another layer, spreading with the raspberry filling. At this point, I cover the cake and chill briefly.

Frost cake with remaining frosting. I whipped some cream and used some remaining raspberries, inspired by the Ambrosia Baking decoration.

*If you're concerned the filling is too thin, remove about half a cup and place into a microwave-safe bowl. Whisk in about 1 tbsp of sugar and 1 tbsp cornstarch. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir, and microwave again until the mixture is bubbly and noticeably thicker. This will ensure the cornstarch activates. Once thickened, whisk into the rest of the filling. Cover and chill to completely set.

**I have this fondness for dry buttermilk powder. In place of the buttermilk, I mix in 4 tbsp of the dry buttermilk powder into the dry ingredients. For the liquid, you can use just about anything, but for this cake, I actually prefer 1 cup coffee, room temperature. The extra cup really provides a bold coffee flavor.