Chocolate, Raspberry Cake:

Make's a 3 layer, 8 inch cake.





2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup canola oil
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2/3 cup raspberry jam



Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter three 8″ cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl and whisk to combine. Whisk in the oil and sour cream, then gradually beat in the water. Add the vinegar and vanilla and mix to combine, and finally beat in the eggs until the batter is well combined. Divide among the cake pans.



Bake for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out almost clean. Cool in the pans for 20 minutes, then place onto a wire rack and peel off the parchment paper, letting the cakes cool completely. These cakes are very soft, and it helps to freeze them for 15 minutes at this point.

Now for raspberry ganache.



Use a serrated knife to even the tops. Place one layer onto a parchment-lined cardboard cut out and spread 1/3 cup raspberry jam. Cover the jam with a thin, 1/4 inchthick layer of raspberry ganache. Top with the second layer and repeat. Then, placethe final layer on top.



To frost the cake, start with a crumb coat: barely cover the entire cake with a thin, see through layer of ganache. This is to help create a smooth finish later. Chill the cake for 10 minutes.
Frost the cake with the remaining raspberry ganache and top with fresh raspberries.



Raspberry Ganache:


15 oz bittersweet, 5 oz, of semi sweet chips
1 2/3 cups frozen raspberries
2 sticks butter, room temperature



Bring an inch or two of water to a simmer in a medium saucepan. As the water heats, microwave the raspberries in 1 minute intervals, stirring and mashing with a fork, until they become a smooth liquid. Pour through a strainer (should yield 1/3 cup raspberry juice) and set aside to cool.



Place the chopped chocolate and the butter in a large heatproof bowl and set over the saucepan. The bowl should not touch the water or fall more than halfway into the saucepan. Stir until the chocolate and butter melt, then gradually add in the slightly warm raspberry juice, whisking to combine.



Take the ganache off the heat and let cool until spreadable, stirring once in a while.
The ganache was almost too sweet, but I used a combination of semisweet and bittersweet chocolate. Use the bitterest, darkest chocolate possible to counteract the sweetness of the berries.