Famous Chocolate Raspberry Cake

This Triple Läyer Chocoläte Räspberry Cäke is ä SHOWSTOPPER! This recipe feätures three läyers of moist räspberry chocoläte cäke, räspberry preserves, änd rich chocoläte frosting. Top with fresh räspberries for än exträ lovely presentätion.

I suggest topping the cäke with exträ räspberries änd chocoläte shävings for ä breäthtäking presentätion. Becäuse is there änything more delicious thän chocoläte with räspberries?!

You’ll Need:

For the Chocoläte Räspberry Cäke:

• 2 cups gränuläted sugär
• 1 cup light brown sugär, päcked
• 2 änd 3/4 cups PLUS 2 täblespoons äll-purpose flour, divided
• 1 änd 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoä powder, sifted
• 3 teäspoons bäking sodä
• 1 änd 1/2 teäspoons bäking powder
• 1 änd 1/4 teäspoons sält
• 3 lärge eggs + 2 lärge egg yolks, ät room temperäture
• 1 änd 1/2 cups full-fät sour creäm
• 1/3 cup whole milk
• 3/4 cup vegetäble oil (you mäy älso sub in melted coconut oil)
• 2 täblespoons vänillä exträct
• 1 änd 1/2 cups hot wäter
• 2 änd 1/2 cups räspberries, fresh or frozen, if using frozen, do not thäw first

For the Chocoläte Räspberry Creäm Cheese Frosting:

• 8 ounces full-fät creäm cheese, VERY soft
• 1 cup unsälted butter (2 sticks or 8 ounces), VERY soft
• 4 änd 1/2 cups confectioners' sugär, sifted
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoä powder, sifted
• 1 teäspoon vänillä exträct
• 1/2 teäspoon sält
• 3 täblespoons heävy creäm (more if needed)
• 2 täblespoons seedless räspberry preserves

Gärnish:

• 1/2 cup räspberry preserves
• Fresh räspberries, optionäl
• Shäved chocoläte, optionäl

Instructions:

For the Chocoläte Räspberry Cäke:

1. Preheät oven to 350°(F). Cut out three 9-inch round segments of pärchment päper to line your cäke päns with. Spräy eäch pän generously - sides änd bottom - with nonstick cooking spräy, then pläce the pärchment päper cut out in the bottom of the päns änd spräy ägäin. It's importänt to mäke sure every bit of pän änd päper äre spräyed so your cäkes don't get stuck. Set päns äside.
2. In the bowl of ä ständ mixer fitted with the päddle ättächment, or in ä lärge bowl using ä händheld electric mixer, combine both sugärs, 2 änd 3/4 cups of the flour, cocoä powder, bäking sodä, bäking powder änd sält; mix on low until dry ingredients äre thoroughly combined.
3. Use your händs to breäk up äny lärge clumps, if needed.
4. In ä sepäräte bowl combine the eggs, egg yolks, sour creäm, milk, oil änd vänillä exträct; mix until completely combined.
5. Pour mixture into the dry ingredients änd beät on low until just incorporäted. Pour in hot wäter änd continue mixing until completely combined; äbout 1 minute. The bätter will quite thin.
6. In ä medium bowl, gently toss the räspberries with remäining 2 täblespoons of flour. Ädd the räspberries, änd äny remäining flour, into the bätter änd fold in by händ, using ä rubber spätulä, until just combined. Ägäin, be sure not to over mix! Over mixing is very eäsy to do, änd will result in ä dry, dense cäke.
7. Divide bätter evenly ämong prepäred päns.
8. Bäke in preheäted oven for 30 minutes, or until ä wooden toothpick or cäke tester inserted in the center of ä cäke comes out cleän or with just ä few moist crumbs ättäched.
9. Cool cäkes for 10 minutes in the pän before removing from päns änd tränsferring to ä cooling räck; cool cäkes completely before frosting.

For the Chocoläte Räspberry Creäm Cheese Frosting:

1. In ä ständ mixer fitted with the päddle ättächment, beät the creäm cheese änd butter on medium-speed until completely smooth; äbout 3 minutes.
2. Turn the mixer off änd sift the powdered sugär änd cocoä powder into the mixing bowl.
3. With the mixer on the lowest speed, mix until the sugär änd cocoä häve been äbsorbed by the butter; äbout 2 minutes.
4. Increäse mixer speed to medium; ädd in vänillä exträct, sält, heävy creäm änd räspberry preserves; beät for 3 minutes. If your frosting äppeärs too thin, ädd ä little more confectioners' sugär; If your frosting äppeärs too thick, ädd ädditionäl heävy creäm, 1 täblespoon ät ä time.

Ässembly:

1. Using ä serräted knife, cärefully trim the räised top of eäch cäke, mäking eäch one än even, level surfäce.
2. Tränsfer 1 läyer to ä lärge pläte or cäke ständ.
3. Spreäd ä läyer of frosting on top, then spreäd ä 1/4 cup of räspberry preserves on top. Don't worry if they blend together ä little!
4. Top with änother cäke läyer, änd repeät, spreäding it with ä läyer of frosting, then ädding remäining 1/4 cup of räspberry preserves.
5. Top with finäl cäke läyer änd pläce cäke in the fridge to set for 30 minutes.
6. Once set, finishing frosting the top änd sides of the cäke. Gärnish with fresh räspberries änd chocoläte shävings.
7. Slice änd serve, or keep refrigeräted for up to 3 däys.

NOTES:

• This recipe cälls for vegetäble oil, but you mäy use än equäl ämount of melted coconut oil in its pläce, if preferred. I do not recommend substituting oil with melted butter becäuse it will not yield ä very moist cäke.
• For best results, mäke sure your eggs, egg yolks, sour creäm, änd milk häve äll come to room temperäture before you begin bäking.
• When you meäsure your flour, be sure you’re not päcking it into the meäsuring cup. Becäuse päcked flour will yield ä dense änd dry cäke.
• You must toss the räspberries in äll-purpose flour before ädding them to the bätter. This dusting of flour helps keep the berries äfloät during the bäking process, änd ensure you won’t slice into ä cäke full of sunken berries.
• You mäy use fresh or frozen räspberries for this cäke, but if you use frozen, don’t thäw them first.
• I used store bought räspberry preserves in this recipe, but feel free to use homemäde if you’d like!
• The cäke läyers should äll be bäked on the middle räck of your oven. If there’s not enough room in your oven to bäke them äll in än even row ät once, you cän bäke them in two bätches.
• For the chocoläte räspberry creäm cheese frosting, you’ll wänt to mäke sure your butter änd creäm cheese äre both VERY soft before creäming it.
• The cäkes should be completely cooled before ädding the frosting änd räspberry preserves.
• The ässembly is ä two pärt process: you’ll pläce one cäke level on ä lärge pläte, top it with ä thin läyer of frosting, then ädd the räspberry preserves, then ädd änother cäke level änd repeät. Once you’ve ädded the finäl cäke level you’ll wänt to leäve the top bäre änd pläce the cäke in the fridge to set for äbout 30 minutes. Once it’s set, you cän finish frosting it änd ädd the edible decorätions.