Luscious Chocolate Raspberry Cake Recipes

LUSCIOUS CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Arrange two racks in center of oven. Line bottoms of three 9-by-2-inch buttered cake pans with parchment; butter again. Dust bottoms and sides with cocoa; tap out excess. Sift cocoa into a medium bowl; stir in 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons boiling water until smooth; gradually whisk in milk. Set aside to cool.
• Sift flour, baking soda, and salt into a bowl. Set aside. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on low until fluffy. Gradually beat in sugar, scraping down sides twice. Beat in vanilla.
• Add eggs, a third at a time, beating after each addition. With mixer on low speed, alternate adding flour mixture and reserved cocoa mixture a little at a time, starting and ending with flour mixture. Divide batter evenly among prepared pans; spread with an offset spatula until level.
• Bake 20 to 25 minutes, rotating pans if necessary, until a cake tester inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean. Let cool in pans set on a wire rack, about 15 minutes. Remove the cakes from the pans, and return to rack to cool, tops up.
• Trim cake layers until level. Place one layer of cake on a cardboard cake round. Spread about 1 1/4 cups whipped ganache on cake; top with a second cake. Repeat. Spread remaining whipped ganache evenly over top and sides of cake to seal in crumbs and form a smooth surface. Chill until crumb coat is firm, about 30 minutes.
• Place cake (still on the cardboard cake round) on a wire rack set in a baking pan. Pour enough ganache glaze over cake to fully coat, shaking pan gently to help spread ganache if necessary. Let sit for 15 to 20 minutes. The ganache in the baking pan may be strained through a fine sieve and added back into glaze. Pour remaining glaze over cake; allow excess to drip off sides. If top is not smooth, gently shake pan, or run an offset spatula quickly over surface. Allow to set at least 30 minutes before serving.

CHOCOLATE GANACHE CAKE WITH RASPBERRY SAUCE

Steps:

• Grease a 10-in. springform pan and dust with baking cocoa; set aside., In a large saucepan, melt chocolate and butter over medium heat; stir until smooth. Set aside to cool. In a large bowl, beat eggs on medium-high speed for 5 minutes. Using low speed, add the flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Gradually add chocolate mixture; beat on medium for 2 minutes. Pour into prepared pan. , Bake at 350° for 25-28 minutes or just until set. Cool on a wire rack to room temperature. Remove sides of pan and invert onto a serving plate; invert again, so top side is up., For ganache, in a small saucepan over low heat, melt chocolate chips with cream; stir until smooth. Cool until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally. Spread ganache over top of cake, allowing some to drape over the sides., For sauce, in a large saucepan, heat raspberries. Transfer raspberries to a fine mesh strainer over a large bowl. Mash and strain raspberries, reserving juice. Discard seeds. , In another saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch, water and reserved raspberry juice until smooth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; cook and stir for 2-3 minutes or until mixture reaches desired consistency. Stir in orange extract., For whipped cream, in a small bowl, beat cream until it begins to thicken. Add sugar, cocoa and vanilla; beat until soft peaks form. Garnish cake with chocolate whipped cream and sauce.

CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY TRIPLE DECKER CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Generously grease and flour three 9-inch round cake pans. Set the pans aside.
• Strain the raspberries through a fine-mesh sieve if you don't want the seeds in your cake.
• Place the cake mix, raspberries and their juice, sour cream, oil, and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed. The batter should look well blended.
• Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans, smoothing it out with the rubber spatula.
• Bake the cakes until they spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 25 to 28 minutes.
• Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 10 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edge of each layer and invert each onto a rack, then invert again onto another rack so that the cakes are right side up. Allow to cool completely, 30 minutes more.
• Meanwhile, prepare the Chocolate Ganache, adding the Chambord, if desired, after all the chocolate has melted.
• Place one cake layer, right side up, on a serving platter. Spread the top with ganache frosting. Place the second layer, right side up, on top of the first layer. Spread the top with ganache. Place the third layer, right side up, on top of the second layer and frost the top and sides of the cake. Work with clean, smooth strokes.
• Decorate the top attractively with the fresh raspberries, if desired. Place this cake, uncovered or in a cake saver, in the refrigerator until the frosting sets, 20 minutes. Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
• Ganache: Place the cream in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring. Meanwhile, place the chopped chocolate in a large stainless-steel mixing bowl. Remove the cream from the heat, and pour it over the chocolate. Stir with a wooden spoon until the chocolate is melted. Stir in the liqueur if desired.
• To use this ganache as a glaze, let it stand at room temperature for 10 minutes before spooning it over a cooled cake. To use the ganache as a frosting, let it stand for 30 minutes at room temperature, or chill it for 10 minutes, until it has thickened enough to spread with a metal spatula.
• Makes 1 3/4 C., enough to thinly frost a 2 - 3 layer cake.

CHOCOLATE-RASPBERRY CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease two 9-inch round cake pans with baking spray. Mix cocoa and flour together and use to flour the pans.
• Combine cake mix, water, vanilla yogurt, pudding mix, vodka, vegetable oil, and eggs in a large bowl. Mix on low speed until moistened. Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes, then stir in chocolate chips. Divide batter evenly into the prepared cake pans.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the centers spring back at your touch, 40 to 50 minutes. Cool in the pans for 5 minutes. Run a table knife around the edges to loosen. Invert carefully onto a serving plate or cooling rack and let cool completely, about 25 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine raspberries and sugar for filling in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until they reduce by about 50%. Set aside to cool.
• Slice each cooled cake layer horizontally into two layers. Place the bottom layer on a serving plate and top with 1/3 of the filling. Repeat with 2 more layers and remaining filling. Top with final layer.
• Combine vanilla frosting, whipped topping, and melted white chocolate in a large mixing bowl; mix on high speed until smooth and creamy.
• Frost the top and sides of the cake. Decorate with extra chocolate chips and/or raspberries, if desired. Chill for at least 1 hour before serving.

CHOCOLATE-RASPBERRY TRUFFLE CAKE

Steps:

• Puree raspberries in a food processor.
• Press raspberry mixture through a wire mesh sieve, using the back of a spoon to squeeze out the juice; discard seeds.
• Bring juice and the 1-2 T sugar to a boil over high heat, then cook over medium heat, stirring often until the mixture is reduced to 1/2 cup.
• Remove from heat and cool completely.
• Butter an eight inch cake pan and line bottom with parchment or waxed paper.
• Heat the 1/3 cup sugar and the Chambord in a saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally.
• Add butter and continue heating and stirring until butter melts.
• Remove from heat and add chocolate, stir until smooth and cool.
• (I heated the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave at 50% power for about four minutes, then stirred until smooth and then added the warm melted chocolate to the liquor/butter mixture-It seemed to make it a lot smoother and quicker).
• Whisk together the raspberry reduction,eggs, flour, and almond extract in a large bowl.
• Add chocolate mixture and beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until well blended.
• Pour into prepared cake pan.
• Place cake pan into a larger pan (I used the broiler pan from the oven) and add hot water to a depth of one inch.
• Bake at 325°F for 42 to 45 minutes.
• Cake will have risen and not be completely "set".
• Remove from water bath and cool cake completely on a wire rack.
• Cake will "collapse" as it cools down.
• Run a thin knife around pan to loosen cake.
• Invert cake onto a plate, remove the parchment or waxed paper, and invert again onto a serving plate.
• To serve, cut cake into small wedges and place on plates that have been drizzled with the chocolate syrup.
• Garnish with whipped cream and a few fresh raspberries and serve.
• If desired, cake can be made a day ahead of time.
• Cover and chill in refrigerator then let stand at room temperature for at least one hour before serving.

LUSCIOUS CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F Grease 2 8 inch or 2 9 inch cake pans.
• Prepare cake by combining cake mix, soda, and eggs. Beat 2 minutes. Add 2/3 cup of raspberry jam and white chocolate chips and stir til incorporated. Pour dough equally into 2 pans. Bake 30-35 minutes or until tooth pick comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.
• Place one cake on serving plate, smooth edge on top. Spread 2/3 cup of raspberry jam on top of cake, leaving 1/2 inch around the cake with no jam. Place the other smooth side of the cake on top raspberry jam. If top of the cake is rounded, use a knife, such as a bread knife, to cut of top. Spread chocolate frosting evenly over the entire cake. Decorate cake with additional jam and white chocolate chips if desired.