Chocolate Raspberry Cake

This chocolate raspberry cake is made from fluffy chocolate cake layers, a fudge frosting, and lots of raspberry jam and fresh raspberries. This is my ideal cake for Valentine’s Day, and it’s really such a treat for anything where a cake is required (every event ever).

This recipe takes a little more time to pull together, and part of the process is slicing the cake layers in half to create four layers. This process can be a little tricky, but I’ve tips to help you along the way. This chocolate fudge frosting is my latest obsession- it’s like frosting a cake with hot fudge sauce. Let’s get to it!

How to Make Chocolate Raspberry Cake

For this cake, we’re starting with the frosting. The frosting needs at least a couple of hours to cool completely to room temperature, and you can’t skip this step so you’ll want to make the frosting first. It’s super simple to pull together, you basically just want to melt all the ingredients together in a medium pot, stirring until everything is super smooth. Then just let the mixture cool completely before frosting your cake!

For the cake, we’re using pretty simple ingredients here to make for a super chocolatey, fluffy cake that makes the perfect base. The first step is to stir together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt until combined.

Next up, we’re blooming the cocoa powder in a hot mixture of melted butter and coffee. This process helps bring out the chocolate flavor even more. Then carefully stir the chocolate into the dry ingredients.

The mixture will be pretty thick at this stage, and you don’t have to fully mix in the chocolate here. Once it’s partially mixed in, add in the eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla extract and then stir the batter together until you have a smooth mixture. Then it’s off to the oven to bake in two 8-inch cake pans.

Let the cakes cool completely, wrapping in plastic while they are still hot to help lock in moisture. Then it’s time to slice off the domed top of each layer, and then carefully slice each layer into two even layers, giving you four total layers. This can be a little bit tricky, and you want to use a sharp serrated knife. Go slowly here, taking your time to make sure the cake is sliced evenly.

For each layer, you want to pipe a dam of chocolate frosting around the edge, and then fill the cake with raspberry jam and fresh raspberries. Repeat this process until every layer has been filled. Then frost the cake as desired.

The cake will be full of raspberries and frosted with smooth fudge frosting, and honestly the whole combination is pretty delightful. Enjoy!

Tips & Tricks for Chocolate Raspberry Cake

Here are my tips to help you along the way to the perfect Chocolate Raspberry Cake!

• Do I have to use Dutch-processed cocoa powder? I always prefer Dutch-processed cocoa powder because it gives your baked goods a stronger chocolate flavor, and it comes through perfectly at altitude. I do not recommend using natural cocoa powder here!
• My frosting feels cool, but it’s still thin. This frosting thickens as it sets, so you want to let the mixture sit longer if it’s still too thin. Even when it feels mostly cool, it may need more time to thicken. If it’s too thin, let it sit for another 30 minutes to 1 hour and it will thicken up!
• Do I have to use coffee in the cake? You can swap out the coffee for water if you prefer, but note that this cake does not taste like coffee. The coffee simply brings out the chocolate flavor more!
• Whisk your cake batter together by hand to avoid over-mixing the cake batter. It’s pretty simple to pull together by hand, and I prefer it here!
• Let the cakes cool completely before you try to trim and slice the layers. If the cakes are still warm, you may find that they crumble apart easier.
• How do I slice the cakes into layers? You want to use a very sharp knife, and slowly cut into the cake, rotating the knife as you go. Take your time here and try to get as even of layers as possible.
• What if my cake layers crumble a little bit? We’re working with cake still, so you may find your cake layers crumble slightly if you’re not super careful. You can always patch together pieces if needed with a little bit of frosting. However, if your cakes are completely cooled, they will hold together better!
• Do I have to use raspberries? No, you can swap in other fruit if you’d prefer here- strawberries or blackberries would be easy to throw in with matching jams!
• I’m at about 5,000 ft. above sea level, and I find that most people who live between about 3,000-7,000 ft. above sea level do not need to make any adjustments to my recipes.

Enjoy!

Print

Chocolate Raspberry Cake

Servings 12 slices

Ingredients

For the fudge frosting:

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 14.5 oz dark chocolate chopped into rough chunks
• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tbs. Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 1 tbs. vanilla extract

For the cake:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup hot coffee
• 1/2 cup dutch processed cocoa powder
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup raspberry jam
• 1 pint fresh raspberries

Instructions

For the fudge frosting:

1. In a medium saucepan, add all the ingredients and heat over medium heat. Stirring constantly, heat the mixture until everything is melted, well combined, and smooth, which should take about 5 minutes.
2. Pour the mixture through a mesh strainer to remove any lumps into a heat-proof bowl. Cover the mixture with plastic wrap, placing it directly on the surface of the mixture, and let it cool completely to room temperature, about 2 hours. Once the mixture is cooled completely, whisk to remove any lumps that have formed. The mixture should be glossy, smooth, and easy to spread. If your mixture is still looking thin and like it would drip out of a cake, it’s not cooled enough.

For the cake:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease two 8 inch round cake pans. Optionally line the pan with parchment paper and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.
2. In a microwave safe medium bowl, melt the butter until just melted in the microwave, about 2 minutes. Then add in the coffee and microwave for another minute, or until the mixture is just boiling. Stir in the cocoa powder and whisk to combine until smooth.
3. Pour the hot chocolate mixture over the dry ingredients, and whisk until combined- the mixture will be very thick at this point, and it doesn’t have to be fully mixed through.
4. Then stir in the buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla extract and whisk until combined and smooth. Pour the batter into your prepared cake pans, and bake for 30-32 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with just a few crumbs clinging to it. Cool the cake completely before frosting it. Optionally, remove the cakes from the pans while hot and wrap tightly in plastic wrap, allowing the cakes to cool at room temp while wrapped.

To assemble:

1. Once the cakes have fully cooled, use a sharp knife to trim the domed top off of each layer. Then carefully slice each layer into half, creating a total of 4 layers of cake.
2. To frost the cake, place one layer onto your cake plate, and pipe a dam around the edge using your chocolate frosting. Fill the center with a layer of raspberry jam and a scattering of fresh raspberries. Top with another layer and repeat. Frost the outside of the cake with the remaining fudge frosting and top with more fresh raspberries. Enjoy!

Dough-Eyed

Hello and welcome! My name is Nicole, and Dough-eyed is a food blog for people who want to bake for their family and friends in high-altitude areas. Think of me as a friendly voice there with you in the kitchen, here to give you confidence when you’re baking, and to help you with the struggles of baking at high-altitude. Come back every week for new recipes, tips, and advice on high-altitude baking!