Ironically, right before I blew out the candles on my cake last Friday evening, I asked the people who were joining me for dessert if I should wish for world peace. The answer was, ’Don’t bother.’ The next morning, I awoke to the horrifying news of the bombing of Caracas. I guess I already know what kind of year it’s gonna be.
Back in the 60’s when I was a kid, I was an avid reader. I read everything. We would frequently go to my great-grandmother’s house, where the adults would play pinochle and drink coffee, and we kids would watch TV and color on giant rolls of computer paper that my uncle would bring home from work. He worked at Hewlett-Packard, and rather than throw the used paper away, he’d get it home for the grandkids.
The crayons were kept in the living room side table drawers—as were materials for making bomb shelters. That’s what I ended up reading, and to be honest, it made a ridiculous impression on my little 8-year-old brain. It scared the living crap out of me. My great-grandparents had a bomb shelter that they fashioned from a basement that could be entered from the backyard, which made it all too real to me.
Anyway, one Saturday morning, I awoke from a nightmare to a very loud crashing sound—I honestly thought we were being bombed. I tore into my parents’ bedroom yelling, ”We’re being bombed, we’re being bombed!”
”Go back to bed,” they said. It was the garbage collectors making all the noise.
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I’ve been a pacifist my entire life, and reading that bomb shelter material really enforced it. I would go to any anti-war protest I could, and I’ll likely do it again. Meanwhile, I’ll eat cake when I can, and make it the way I like it.
I indulged on my birthday—I made the most decadent cake I could possibly make, given the limitation of using just three six-inch pans. It had to be small because I didn’t have too many people to share it with, but I made it rich, moist, and extremely chocolatey. I filled it with a raspberry fruit spread, because I absolutely adore the combination. I adore raspberries.
I guess it’s just as well that my friends told me not to bother wishing for world peace. I won’t tell you what I wished for, but hopefully it will bring us to that end. I just hope I live long enough to see it.
Until then, there’s cake.
Chocolate Raspberry Cake
For the Cake
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- ½ cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder
- 1 tsp espresso powder
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- ½ cup white sugar
- ½ cup packed brown sugar or coconut sugar
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup buttermilk, at room temperature
- Butter for greasing pans
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Prepare the bottoms of three 6-inch cake pans by lining them with parchment paper circles and butter the bottoms and sides of the pans. Set aside.
Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl until thoroughly combined. Set aside.
Whisk the eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, and vanilla together in a medium bowl until completely smooth. Pour half of the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Next, pour half of the buttermilk into the bowl and whisk for about a minute. Repeat with the remaining wet ingredients and buttermilk. Stir until just combined; don’t overmix.
Divide the batter into the lined cake pans. Bake for 18-21 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Allow to cool completely before frosting, or wrap and store cake layers at room temperature if you are making the cake part a day ahead. You don’t even need to remove them from the pans.
Next, we frost. Make both recipes before starting.
For the Ganache
- 8 oz semi-sweet or dark chocolate (finely chopped)
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 Tbsp butter (optional, for extra shine)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
- raspberry jam or spread
Place the chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl and set aside. Gently heat the cream in a small saucepan until it is steaming and small bubbles form on the edges. Do not let it boil!
Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let it sit for a minute to soften. Stir the cream into the chocolate with a metal spoon in small concentric circles in the middle of the bowl. It will eventually turn glossy and smooth, and once it does, stop stirring. It is done. You don’t want to overwork it.
Lastly, stir in the butter and vanilla, if using. Your ganache is now ready to spread on the cake.
For the Chocolate Buttercream
- ½ cup butter (1 stick)
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- ¼ cup dutch-process cocoa powder
- 1-½ Tbsp heavy cream
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Fresh raspberries and mint for garnish
Using a stand or hand mixer, start by beating the butter. Next, add the confectioners’ sugar
Start frosting the cake with the first layer by spreading a thin layer of ganache over the top surface. Fill two pastry bags with about half a cup of buttercream each, one using a large round tip and the other a large star tip. Pipe a ring around the circumference of the layer of atop the ganache, creating a dam. Fill the ’dam’ with raspberry jam or spread. I like this one because it’s not too sweet but full of raspberry flavor. I can usually find it on sale for about half the price at my local market, so I’ll buy it then. Any jam you like will do in case you can’t find this one.
Place the next layer on top of the first and repeat.
Lastly, place the top layer upon the first two and frost the entire cake.
Taking it further, I used the buttercream for the roses. I piped them on using a 1M tip, then garnished the spaces in between with roses and mint leaves.
The cake serves 6-8.
