For Valentines Day I wanted to make something extra special, from scratch, to surprise Conor and to complete week one of my cooking/baking challenge. I saw a recipe for this Chocolate Raspberry cake and knew that this was it! Conor’s a BIG chocolate lover, while I’m more of a fruit person, so this was the perfect compromise (because that’s what marriage is all about, right??).

Let me start by saying…cooking is hard- I’m not good at it, but baking?? UGH, that takes it to a whole other level. There’s so much chemistry involved in baking. If your measurements are off while cooking then it’s not such a big deal, but if you measure a tablespoon instead of a teaspoon, or a cup instead of a half cup, then you may as well just start everything over. I learned this lesson earlier in the week when trying to bake some homemade cookies- I now know to read carefully, because baking SODA and baking POWDER are not the same thing. I need help, and lots of it!

Overall, this cake turned out pretty well! A few minor mistakes that caused some flaws, but we each tried a piece and it wasn’t all that bad (the few glasses of wine prior may have impaired our judgement, but oh well).  I’ll post the recipe below, if anyone tries this out and it turns out absolutely delicious let me know!! The best part of making this cake was the fact that I was finally able to use my beautiful Matte Black standing Kitchen Aid Mixer I received from my Grandma at my Bridal Shower. I’ll have to get better at baking just so I can simply use this more.

                                          

Chocolate Raspberry Cake

INGREDIENTS:

Base Batter:

2 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

4 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup milk

Chocolate Batter:

1/2 base batter

1/4 cup cocoa powder

Raspberry Batter:

1/2 base batter

1/2 cup raspberry jam

Chocolate Ganache

2 cups heavy cream

1.5 cup chocolate chips

Garnish

1 package raspberries

powdered sugar

PREPARATION:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients for base batter (flour, sugar, baking powder, salt)
3. In a second mixing bowl, combine eggs,  vegetable oil, and vanilla extract
4. Add the wet mix to the dry mix, stirring until smooth
5. Add milk slowly, and stir until evenly mixed
6. Divide the batter evenly between two mixing bowls. Add the cocoa powder to one half of the batter, and the raspberry jam to the other half. Mix both thoroughly.
7. In a greased 9-inch cake pan, alternate adding batters by placing about a 1/4 cup of batter at a time in the center of the pan. Let it spread out thin, and then add a 1/4 cup of the other batter in the center. Continue this process until the cake pan is filled. This allows the cake to have two distinct alternating colors and flavors when you cut into it.
8. Finished product of this step:
9. Bake your cake in a preheated oven for about 25-35 minutes.
10. Allow cake to cool slightly, then remove from pan and cool completely.

Ganache:

1. In a medium pot set on low heat, add heavy cream and chocolate chips. Mix until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth
2. Let the mix rest until it has cooled and it’s consistency is thick
3. Pour the ganache over the completely cooled cake, starting in the middle and circling towards the edges until covered on all sides.

Garnish:

1. Top with fresh raspberries, sprinkle on some powdered sugar, and enjoy!

Here’s where I faulted: I didn’t realize that with a cake pan like this small 9 inch round one, you’re not supposed to fill it all the way to the top. Well, that’s what I did. So, I ended up having to bake the cake for about 10-15 minutes longer than the original recipe called for. What resulted of this was a large puffed up center that was raw at the allotted 35 minute baking time, and burned edges. Once I finally got the entire cake to be cooked through all the way, a majority of it was over cooked and dry. But, that was nothing another glass of wine couldn’t fix! All in all, it was a delicious cake (as it should be).

Week one of my year-long cooking/baking challenge completed! Was it a success? Not completely, but that’s what this whole thing is for!

Enjoy!

xox