Raspberry Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Sour Cream Ganache

Rasperberry chocolate cake
with sour cream chocolate ganache.

My husband loves chocolate layer cake with raspberry jam...in fact i don't think he has requested any other kind of birthday in the almost 17 years we have been together. And although he'd be happy with a Betty Crocker mix, that isn't my style - especially for a 40th birthday!

Instead I combined a great recipe I found on epicurious and my favorite sour cream ganache frosting recipe and made this cake. It was a hit - the only problem was trying to light ALL those candles before the icing melted! :)

I love the jam-ganache sandwich in the middle layer!

Chocolate Cake

cake adapted from Epicurious recipe.

Ingredients

• Nonstick vegetable oil spray
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup water
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3 large eggs

Good enough for a 40th birthday party!
And stands up to the heat of all those candles!

For cake:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Position racks in top and bottom third of oven.
• Coat two 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 2-inch-high sides with nonstick spray or butter and flour to prevent sticking.
• Sift flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, and salt into large mixing bowl; whisk.
• With a spoon or whisk, form a well in center of sifted mixture.
• In another bowl or large measuring cup, whisk 1 cup water, buttermilk, vanilla, oil, and eggs until combined.
• Pour wet ingredients into the well of dry ingredients; mix until just combined - do not over mix!
• Divide cake batter between prepared the 2 pans (about 3 cups each).
• Bake cakes until tooth pick inserted into center comes out cake free, about 30 minutes.
• Cool completely in pans on cooling racks. Cool completely before continuing.

Sour cream chocolate ganache frosting

this recipe is the amazing creation of Rose Levy Beranbaum

Ingredients

• semi-sweet chocolate (no higher than 62%) - 24 ounces or 680 grams
• room temperature sour cream (use full fat) - 3 1/3 cups, 28 ounces or 800 grams

What to do

• In a double boiler set over hot water or in a bowl using your a microwave oven melt the chocolate using high power, stirring every 20 seconds – watch carefully so it doesn’t burn.
• Remove it from the stove or microwave and gently stir in the sour cream until combined.
• This ganache not only tastely heavenly, it pipes well and keeps its shape even in summer (up to 100 degrees F and it shouldn’t melt much!). You can refrigerate it for a week, if needed – just bring back to room temp before spreading. I also keep some in the freezer for emergencies!
• Depending on your love of this ganache, this recipe should be more than enough to finish this cake. You may even have 1/2 c or so left over (lucky you!).

Filling

3/4 cup raspberry jam

Mmmm....don't you want a piece right now?!

Cake Assembly

• Invert 1 cake layer onto cardboard round or bottom of 9-inch-diameter removable bottom tart.
• Spoon large dollops of ganache over top of first cake and spread evenly.
• Spread 4 tablespoons jam over gananche leaving an inch all around outside of cake layer so that when you place another cake layer on top the jam doesn't squish down the sides.
• Invert 2nd cake layer onto another cardboard round or tart pan bottom.
• You want to create a bit of a jam sandwich between the cake layers so carefuly spread a thin layer of ganache on the side that will touch the inside ganache/jam layer.
• Carefully place the frosted side of the 2nd layer onto the 1st frosted cake layer.
• Place large dollops of ganache on top of the layer cake and carefully spread over top and sides of cake to frost.
• Spoon and gently spread 1/3 c of raspberry jam (if stiff you can gently warm the jam in microwave for a 10-15 seconds) in centre of cake leaving an inch around the edge of cake top. Pipe ganache around jam and on bottom as desired.