Chocolate Raspberry Shortcake with Chocolate Buttercream

It has been kind of a crazy week, and am I super excited for my dad to visit this weekend.  Yes, somehow my dad is coming to visit Mother's day weekend...it happens...he has business in Pennsylvania and is stopping back through on his way back to North Carolina.  It should be a fun weekend, because my dad and I are the same in a lot of ways...

...we both LOVE food...the question that is always on our mind is "What are we going to have for our next meal?"...even if we just got done eating...seriously, no jokes

...we can also both be strangely OCD about cleaning...For instance, it drives me bonkers sometimes when I am done baking, and have a huge mess to clean up.

...we are both semi-outdoorsy as in we will go kayaking and biking, but have never really been all that inclined to go camping in the middle of the woods for more than a weekend...my backyard growing up as a kid sure...woods hmmm....

But this weekend should be fun and I always love when my parents come to visit!

Hey Thursday morning what's up?

This year in DC...May showers bring May flowers...

FaceTiming with Charles while baking...

This cake is spring and summer combined.  It is the first birthday cake in May and the request was something with raspberries and chocolate.  I wanted to try something a bit different from my normal devil's food cake and raspberry sauce cupcakes, so I thought a spring twist on strawberry shortcake was in order...a raspberry shortcake. 

This cake is: 

2 layers of devil's food cake + 1 layer of vanilla cake + fresh raspberries + whipped cream + chocolate buttercream frosting

The cake layers came out light and fluffy, the raspberries and whipped cream lighten up the chocolate so that the cake is not overly rich, and the chocolate buttercream just rounds it all out.  This cake took a bit more time and assembly than normal, but it is beautiful to cut into and would be great for any spring/summer get together. Plus who doesn't like raspberries, whipped cream and chocolate, so give it try and enjoy!

The vanilla layer was baked in the early morning hours...

This batter gives off the best chocolate smell...

Folding in the egg whites...there is something about folding that is almost therapeutic.  It causes you to slow down for a just a minute and be very gentle.

Plump and juicy raspberries cut in half and ready to hangout with the whipped cream...

Umm yum...but not so pretty yet...

A little hand mixing action...Light chocolate butter cream under way....

Devil's Food Cake: (recipe adapted from David Lebovitz)

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

9 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups cake flour (1 1/8 cup all purpose flour + 3 tablespoons cornstarch)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup strong coffee, at room temperature

1/2 cup milk

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray two 9 inch cake pans with non-stick cooking spray and then line with a parchment paper round in the bottom of the pan.

2.  In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar.  Whisk in eggs, one at a time, until well combined.  Whisk in vanilla extract and set aside.

3.  In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together cake flour (or all purpose flour & corn starch), cocoa powder, salt, baking soda and baking powder.

4.  Combine coffee and milk in a measuring cup.

5.  Starting and ending with the dry ingredients, alternate between adding the dry ingredients and coffee-milk mixture to the wet ingredients, mix just until combined. 

6.  Pour into prepared cake pans and bake in a 350 degrees F oven for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Let cakes cool in pans for 10-15 minutes.  Then gently remove the cakes from the pans and let finish cooling on a cooling rack.  Prepare vanilla cake layer while devil's food cakes are cooling.   

Vanilla Cake Layer: (recipe from Magnolia Bakery's vanilla cupcakes)

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup self rising flour

1/2 + 1/8 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup milk

1.  Re-prep one 9 inch cake pan with non-stick cooking spray and a parchment paper round.

2.  In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. 

3.  Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, until well combined.  Whisk in the vanilla extract and set aside.

4.  In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together flours.

5.  Starting and ending with the dry ingredients, alternate between adding the dry ingredients and milk to the wet ingredients, mix just until combined. 

6.  Pour cake batter in to prepared cake pan.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Let cake cool in pan for 10-15 minutes.  Then gently remove from pan and let finish cooling on a cooling rack with the devil's food cake layers.  Prep strawberries for filling.

Whipped  Cream with Raspberries:

2 cups heavy cream

8 ounces (1 cup) sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 pints raspberries

1.  In a medium size mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, mix together heavy cream, sugar and vanilla.  Start mixer on a lower speed and slowly increase the speed.  Mix until light peaks form.  Place whipped cream in the refrigerator until ready to be used.

2. Pints raspberries, washed and cut in half length-wise.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting:

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup cocoa powder, sifted

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup milk

3 tablespoons heavy cream

1.  Using an electric mixer on medium speed, mix together butter, cocoa powdered and salt for approximately 3 minutes or until cream.  It may seam dry.

2.  All at once, on medium-low speed, mix in powdered sugar.  While mixing in powdered sugar, slowly add in the milk and vanilla, until the mixture is smooth.

3.  Then on medium speed, mix in the heavy cream until light and creamy another 2-3 minutes.  Do not over mix.

To assemble:

Pick out flattest layer of devil's food cake.  My cake came out pretty even, but if either has baked up fluffier in the middle, use a serrated knife to cut off the top of the bottom layer to flatten the cake so the layers will stack more evenly. Place bottom layer of devil's food layer on cake plate.  Top with half of whipped cream and smooth out over cake, spread to within a 1/2 inch of the edge of the cake.  Top the whipped cream with a layer of raspberries. 

Next, cut off the top of the vanilla cake using a serrated knife to flatten the top of the cake.  Place vanilla cake layer on top of the bottom layer of cake.  Top with remaining whipped cream and sliced raspberries.  Then carefully place the last layer of devil's food cake on top of the vanilla layer.  Place cake in the refrigerator and prepare frosting.

Remove cake from the refrigerator and gently frost the cake.  Be especially careful with the top layer of devil's food cake as it is crumbly.  If you want and have the time, you can lightly frost the cake to begin with, creating a crumb layer, and place cake in the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes (I used this time to finish washing the dishes). Then finish icing the cake with remaining frosting.  Top with a few raspberries and serve.  If the cake will not be eaten right away, store in refrigerator until ready to be served.  I would recommend taking out of the refrigerator about 10 minutes before serving so that the buttercream can soften a bit.  Invite some friends over and enjoy!