Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Filling and Caramel Icing

This past weekend, I made a cake for a co-worker's husband's birthday.  (Interesting, her husband is also distantly related to hubby.)  This cake was somewhat of a practice run as she's asked me to make a cake for his coworker's birthday as well.  I cobbled together a few different recipes.  I wasn't able to taste the cake, but my coworker said it was delicious!

 Best-Ever Chocolate Cake 

(Better Homes and Gardens, Our Best Recipes, pg 280)

• 3/4 cup butter
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves or raspberry jam (for filling)
• 1 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted (for drizzle) 

Allow butter and eggs to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.  Lightly grease bottoms of three 8" round cake pans, two 9" round pans, or two 8x8" square pans.  Line bottoms of pans with waxed paper.  Grease and lightly flour waxed paper and sides of pans.  Set pans aside.

Preheat oven to 350F.  In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter on medium to high speed for 30 seconds.  Gradually add sugar, about 1/4 cup at a time, beating on medium speed for 3 to 4 minutes or until well mixed.  Scrape side of bowl; continue beating on medium speed for 2 minutes.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition (about 1 minute total).  Beat in vanilla.  

Alternately add flour mixture and milk to beaten mixture, beating on low speed just until combined after each addition.  Beat on medium to high speed for 20 seconds more.  Spread evenly into the prepared pans. 

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes for round cake pans, 35 to 40 minutes for square pans, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean.  Cool cake layers in pan for 10 minutes.  Remove from pans.  Peel off waxed paper.  Cool completely on wire racks. 

Caramel Frosting

(recipe found here)

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 cups powdered sugar

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Stir in salt and brown sugar.  Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.  Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, until sugar dissolves.  Stir in milk and return to a boil, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract.  Cool to lukewarm, about 30 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.  

Once lukewarm, transfer to a stand mixer.  Sift powdered sugar over it, and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes.

Assembly:

Using a bread knife or cake leveler, level the tops of each cake.  Pipe a border of caramel frosting around the top edge of one cake, creating a border or dam.  Spread a thin layer of frosting on top, within the dam, then spread the raspberry preserves on top.  Carefully place the second cake on top of the first.  Frost the cake and garnish with raspberries and drizzle with melted chocolate.

Raspberry Split-Seconds

Last year, I made raspberry thumbprints, which hubby really enjoyed. I'll admit, the recipe I used called for a pack of sugar cookie mix. And while you added more than the required ingredients to it, I felt like a cheater. A big, fat cookie cheater. So this year I decided to find a good replacement. these caught my eye because they are a similar concept, but a much more fun shape.

After I wrapped up all the gift cookies, hubby snuck the bag of these leftovers. I found the bag with 1 sad cookie left for me. :(


Raspberry Split-Second Cookies
(The Taste of Home Cookbook, pg 560)

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 3gg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup raspberry jam

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until it is light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually mix in flour mixture until well combined.

Divide the dough into 4 equal portions. Shape each into a 12 inch long log. Place 2 each on a baking sheet, leaving 4 inches between them.

Make a 1/2 inch deep indentation down the center of the logs. (Mine weren't deep enough.) Fill the indentation with jam. The best way to do this is the put the jam into a bowl and stir it really well so it's a smooth consistency, then spoon it into a ziplock baggie. Cut the tip off the baggie and pipe the jam into the indentation. Easy and clean! Great task for children and husbands.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until lightly golden. Let cool. The recipe calls for 2 minutes, but I let it sit longer, giving more time for the jam to cool so it didn't stick on everything. Cut diagonally into 3/4 inch slices.

Remove to wire rack and cool completely.

Belgian Raspberry Brownies with Truffle Ganache

I love this picture. It's pretty. ... Moving on. Amanda sent me this recipe a week or so again, and I decided to make these brownies for her birthday. Sadly, a car snafu has prevented her from picking up her delicious birthday present, but that's okay; her birthday isn't for another 45 minutes. As a responsible chef, I have tasted the end product, and I can verify that they are pretty tasty. Hubby and I each have our own issues with them: I feel the brownies are a bit too dry, and hubby feels they are a bit too bitter, at least the chocolate aftertaste is. That's not to say we didn't both heartily enjoy our little brownies. We did. Hopefully, Amanda does too.

Belgian Truffle Brownies with Truffle Ganache

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup raspberry beer - I couldn't find any, so I used Leinenliugel's Berry Weiss.
1/4 cup seedless raspberry preserves - again, I could not find this so I used seedless raspberry jam. I felt the seedlessness was important
5 oz coarsely chopped bittersweet chocolate
1 cup flour
1/3 cup Hershey Special Dark Cocoa Powder
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
Ganache:
1 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp heavy cream
5 oz coarsely chopped dark chocolate truffles - Lindt

Preheat the oven to 375F. Line an 8x11 baking dish with foil and coat with cooking spray.
Melt 1/2 cup butter in a small saucepan over medium heat; stir in beer and preserves. When the mixture starts to boil, turn off the heat and stir in the bittersweet chocolate until it is melted and well combined. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, and salt.
In a large bowl, beat the sugars, eggs, and vanilla extract on high for 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and beat in the warm chocolate mixture until they are well combined. Stir in the flour mixture until just combined.
Pour batter into a pan; spread even. Bake at 375F for 20-25 minutes or until set (toothpick comes out clean). Gently place the baking dish into a larger dish filled with ice water. Let sit until the brownies are cool. (I thought this was odd, but whatever. It did quickly cool the brownies).
On medium heat, melt 1 tbsp butter. Stir in the cream. When the mixture starts to bubble, reduce the heat to low. Stir in the truffles until they are melted and smooth. Pour over brownies; smooth evenly across. Place brownies in the freezer for 15 minutes, or until the ganache is set.
Lift out the foil (and brownies). Slice into bars; they will slice very easily.
I topped each brownie with a raspberry.

So here we are. Tasty brownies. OH! During the baking of these brownies, I discovered the first beer I can tolerate drinking! The Berry Weiss was pretty tasty as far as beer goes.