Chocolate Raspberry Ganache Cake

This is one of the main reasons for this inventory blog, this cake is amazing but it is a combination of two recipes that I found on Pinterest. I only make it a couple of times a year which results in me never remembering which recipe I use for the cake recipe and other fillings. This cake has yielded wonderful results multiple times, however, the most recent time I made it, I definitely overbaked it. This recipe is also great because everything except the glaze can be made ahead so only assembly is necessary on the day of. I've done different things with decorations, but usually the more raspberries, the better. One of these times, I'm going to try to make fancy chocolate shavings. I've only ever made this using dutch process cocoa. 

Chocolate Cake

Makes: Two 8-inch cakes

Time: 1 hr 

Ingredients:

     1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

     3/4 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder

     1 teaspoon baking powder

     2 teaspoons baking soda

     2 cups granulated sugar

     1 teaspoon salt

     1 cup buttermilk see Notes for DIY

     1/2 cup Vegetable oil

     2 eggs at room temperature

     2 teaspoons vanilla extract

     3/4 cup boiling water

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottom of two 8-inch cake pans at least 2 1/2” deep with parchment paper or two 9” pans. Spray pans with nonstick cooking spray WITH flour or butter and flour pans.
2. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda in a medium bowl. Whisk in sugar and salt ("dry ingredients"). Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla together until combined. Whisk dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until combined. Whisk in boiling water just until combined, do not overmix (the batter will be thin).
4. Evenly divide the batter between the cake pans and drop a few times on the counter to get rid of air bubbles. For 8” pans, bake at 350 degrees F 32-38 minutes, for 9” pans bake for 22-28 minutes OR until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out with just a few moist crumbs (don’t open oven while baking or cakes could fall in center.)
5. Cool cakes in pans for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting. Once cool, level cakes if needed.

Raspberry Syrup

Makes: 1 cup

Ingredients:

     1/3 cup water

     1/3 cup sugar

     1/3 cup raspberry liqueur such as Chambord or liquid from crushed frozen raspberries (thaw before crushing), seeds strained out

Steps:

1. In a small saucepan bring water and sugar to a boil over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally until sugar is dissolved. Cool syrup and stir in liqueur. Syrup may be made 1 week ahead and chilled, covered.

Homemade Raspberry Jam

Makes: 2 cups   

Ingredients:   

     12 oz. frozen raspberries thawed

     1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

     2 tablespoons lemon juice

     1/3 cup granulated sugar

Steps:

1. Add raspberries (and any juices from thawing) to food processor and puree. Add puree to a fine mesh sieve over a bowl to discard seeds. Press down on the puree with the back of a spoon or spatula, until only seeds remain. This will take several minutes. Take care to wipe the back of your sieve to get all of the puree. You should end up with about 1 1/4 cups of puree.
2. Add raspberry puree, cornstarch, sugar and lemon juice to a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring constantly then reduce heat to medium (medium-low if your stove runs hot) and continue to cook and stir continuously until puree is thickened. Refrigerate until completely chilled.

Chocolate Ganache

Makes: 4 cups

Ingredients:

     1-1/4 cups heavy cream

     2 tbsp unsalted butter

     2 tbsp light corn syrup

     1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam

     1 lb semisweet chocolate, chopped coarsely

Steps:

1. In a saucepan bring cream, butter, corn syrup, and jam to a boil over moderate heat and remove pan from heat. Add chocolate, swirling pan to submerge chocolate in hot mixture, and let stand 3 minutes. Whisk ganache gently until smooth. Chill, covered, at least 2 hours and up to 3 days. (I do this 2 days ahead.)

Chocolate Glaze

Makes: 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients:

     1 cup heavy cream

     8 oz semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped coarsely

Steps:

1. In a saucepan bring cream to a boil and remove pan from heat. Add chocolate, swirling pan to submerge chocolate in hot cream, and let stand 2 minutes. Whisk glaze until smooth and pour through a sieve set over a bowl. Cool glaze to room temperature.

Assembly

1.  Let ganache stand at room temperature until slightly softened and pliable. Depending on the temperature of your refrigerator, this may take awhile. With an electric mixer, using the whisk attachment, beat ganache until light and fluffy.
2. With a long serrated knife cut cake horizontally into 2 or 3 layers. Invert top layer of cake onto a  9-inch cardboard round and brush with 1/3 of syrup. Spread layer with 1/3 ganache. Top ganache with 2 middle layers of cake and repeat layering of syrup and ganache. Top with third layer of cake, smooth-side up, and brush with remaining syrup. Spread top and side of cake with remaining ganache.
3. Chill cake until ganache is set, about 30 minutes. Cake may be assembled ahead, wrapped in plastic wrap, and chilled 5 days or frozen 1 month. Thaw cake before proceeding. I think the flavor and texture improve with time, so I recommend you make this cake 1 to 2 days in advance.
4. With cake completely cool and set on a rack set inside a sheet pan (to catch drips), pour glaze through sieve onto center top of cake. Quickly spread glaze evenly over top and sides of cake with a long, narrow, metal spatula. Let cake stand until glaze is set, about 5 minutes. Garnish cake with raspberries and keep at cool room temperature until ready to serve.

EAT