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Chocolate Raspberry Cake
Rich chocolate cake layered with whipped cream cheese raspberry filling, topped with creamy chocolate frosting and fresh raspberries.
Every single year on Valentine’s Day, I make my husband a chocolate cake. We have been married for 21 years (this will be the 24th Valentine’s Day we are celebrating together) so that’s a lot of cake!
For years, I worked and tweaked to create the ultimate chocolate cake recipe and the Love at First Sight Chocolate Cake was born. This year I decided to mix it up a little and instead of a traditional chocolate cake, I made a Chocolate Raspberry Cake with a Fresh Raspberry Cream Filling.
This Chocolate Raspberry Cake is what dreams are made of.
Since Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, I am declaring it CHOCOLATE WEEK on Modern Honey! I am going to share some of our favorite chocolate treats and desserts, just in time for the holiday. Is there any better food holiday than an entire week dedicated to chocolate? The answer is NO. 🙂 This Chocolate Raspberry Cake is the perfect start to the week.
I have made a CRAZY amount of cakes in my days. This chocolate cake ALWAYS turns out. It is so dependable because it is always a winner. The cakes come out beautifully every single time.
How to make a Perfect Chocolate Raspberry Cake:
Baking is all about ratios and you have to find that perfect balance. Here are some of the most important things I have learned about baking cakes:
- Even though I am the biggest butter fan in the world, oil just works best in chocolate cakes (in my humble opinion).
- A high-quality cocoa powder can change the depth of chocolate flavor. If you can use high-quality cocoa powder, it can be a difference maker. I use Callebaut Cocoa (which I find in the bulk section at Winco for a steal of a price).
- Cake flour does make a difference in the tender crumb of the cake but you can substitute all-purpose flour.
- Using both baking soda and baking powder gives it the best rise.
- Buttermilk is a must because it gives it the melt-in-your-mouth texture.
- Once you add the hot water, the cake batter will be thin. Don’t panic. It’s ALL GOOD. It just means that the cake will be extra moist.
- Don’t overbake your cake. You want that moist, tender crumb so watch it carefully.
- My favorite baking pans are these ones — Wilton 8 Inch Round Pan and USA Round Cake Pan, 9 inch. A flat spatula to frost a cake is essential and is only around 5 bucks — Wilton Angled Icing Spatula.
- Whip the cream cheese for 2 minutes before adding the powdered sugar. Keep scraping down the sides of the bowl. Once you add the powdered sugar, cream for 2 more minutes before adding heavy cream. Whip until soft peaks form.
- Pick out the largest and most beautiful raspberries for the top of the cake. Use the tasty “rejects” (the most amazing “rejects) for the filling.
- If you want some extra raspberry flavor, you may spread a thin layer of seedless raspberry jam on the cake layers. You can also make a simple syrup and add a few raspberries in it for extra flavor. This cake is so moist, I don’t even have to use simple syrup.
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Chocolate Raspberry Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake:
- 1 3/4 cup Flour
- 1 3/4 cup Sugar
- 3/4 cup Cocoa high quality
- 2 teaspoons Baking Soda
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 cup Oil such as Canola
- 2 Eggs
- 1 cup Buttermilk
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Vanilla
- 1 cup Hot Water
Raspberry Cream Filling:
- 1 - 8- ounce pkg. Cream Cheese softened
- 1 1/2 cups Powdered Sugar
- 1 cup Heavy Cream
- 12 ounces Fresh Raspberries reserve 6 ounces for the top of the cake
- 1/4 cup Seedless Raspberry Jam optional
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting:
- 1 cup Butter softened
- 3/4 cup Cocoa
- 3 cups Powdered Sugar
- 3 Tablespoons Cream Half n Half or Milk
- 2 teaspoons Light Karo Syrup optional for shine
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. If you have a flour sifter, sift all dry ingredients.
- In mixing bowl, beat oil, eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla for 1 minute. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until combined. Pour in hot water and mix together. The batter will be liquidy but that's a good thing -- it will create a moist cake.
- Spray two or three 8 or 9-inch cake pans with non-stick cooking spray. You can use three 8 inch cake pans for this recipe. Pour batter evenly into each pan. Bake at 22-27 minutes. Place toothpick or cake tester in the center of the cake to check if it comes out clean.
- Let cool before frosting.
To make Raspberry Cream Filling:
- In a large mixing bowl, whip cream cheese for 2 minutes, until fluffy, scraping down the sides of
- the bowl. Add powdered sugar and beat for 2 more minutes. Add heavy cream and beat until soft peaks form. It needs to be thick enough that it will hold its shape once on the cake layers.
To make Chocolate Buttercream Frosting:
- In mixing bowl, cream together Butter, Cocoa, Powdered Sugar, and Cream until light and fluffy. You may want to add more cream or milk depending on consistency.
To assemble cake:
- Once the cake has cooled and has been removed from pans, spread cream filling over each cake layer (I used three 8-inch pans). Place raspberries over cream layer. Repeat. *If using raspberry jam, spread it on cake layer before adding the cream filling.
- Frost with chocolate buttercream frosting. Top with fresh raspberries in center of the cake. May dust with powdered sugar.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This Chocolate Raspberry Cake will knock your socks off! I can’t wait to hear all about it. Have a wonderful night, my friends!
Happy Baking!
I’ve made this recipe many many times and I love it! It is so delicious and I make it almost every time there is an event or birthday in my family. I definitely recommend this recipe but I suggest making extra buttercream because the first time I made it I was short even when following the recipe. Great job Melissa Stadler for making such a good recipe!!
Thank you so much Ava for your sweet comment❤️ I love hearing that this recipe has become a staple in your family. It means the world to me!