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Over the weekend we celebrated my little’s birthday, and we have this tradition where she gets to choose whatever menu she wants ... then I whip it up for her. 

I’ve spoken before about how I love cooking, and am one of those people who shows my love through food.. and well, birthdays are like the olympics for this - I make it all from scratch, and she gets to choose every detail. 

This year she chose - Lasagna, Tomato Cucumber Salad, Homemade French Bread and a **Chocolate Raspberry Cake.**

All these items I’ve made quite a few times, so I had the recipes all ready to go... *except the cake.*

After some brainstorming on flavor combos I played around with my [go-to chocolate cake recipe](https://steemit.com/food/@llfarms/chocolate-fudge-cake-with-ganache-frosting-or-recipe) to make it perfect for layers, and ended up with one of the best cakes I’ve ever made... 
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![EB0CB3D4-42BF-4441-B4E0-D476915D4919.jpeg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmanCApeAtWacHF2Wp8EyAnPLe8yZBaqYAH1ukyKWLZFRa/EB0CB3D4-42BF-4441-B4E0-D476915D4919.jpeg)

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***So I figured I should probably share it with you guys.*** 

A fudgey chocolate cake with chocolate ganache and raspberry preserve filling that was topped with a light and airy chocolate cream cheese frosting... 🤤



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# Ingredients 🍫
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## Chocolate Cake

* 1 3/4 Cups All Purpose Flour
* 1 3/4 Cups Raw Cane Sugar
* 3/4 Cup Cocoa Powder 
* 1 1/2 teaspoons Baking Soda
* 2 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder 
* 1 teaspoon Sea Salt
* 2 Large Eggs 
* 1 Cup Milk
* 2 teaspoons Vanilla
* 1 Cup Boiling Water

 ## Raspberry Filling
* 3 Cups Frozen or Fresh Raspberries 
* 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
* 1/4 Cup Raw Cane Sugar 
* 1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
* 1 Tablespoon Water

## Chocolate Ganache Filling 

* 9 oz (1 1/2 cups) Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate  
* 3/4 cup Heavy Whipping Cream

## Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
* 1 Cup Butter, room temp
* 8oz Cream Cheese, softened
* 12 oz Semi Sweet Chocolate, melted
* 5 tbsp Cocoa Powder
* 4 cups Powdered Sugar
* 10–12 tbsp Heavy Whipping Cream

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# Directions 🥣
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Alright - all these components are pretty easy to make on their own, then we just put them all together. I didn’t get process photos of all the items.. as I’m a horrible blogger, and was seriously coming up with this all as I went along.. *so I was focused on flavors.* BUT, I did get some! 

## The Cake
This is the easiest thing ever, seriously. One bowl and a wooden spoon. 

* Add the Flour, Sugar, Cocoa Powder, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, and Sea Salt into a large bowl and stir until combined. 

* Add in Eggs and Milk, Stir until combined. 

* Then add in the boiling water and mix. Batter will be thin, *it’s supposed to be.*

![112FCC40-8AA7-4EF0-900B-B333FFCA3B54.jpeg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmee3ENFDX6x2CLCGDjdy6UxtGtQPSaGcv2oNFr2f3bfVd/112FCC40-8AA7-4EF0-900B-B333FFCA3B54.jpeg)
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* Divide batter equally into three buttered/floured cake pans. 

* Tap pans on counter to release any air bubbles.

* Bake at 350F for about 30 mins or until center is firm. 

![89656765-248D-430D-8C8C-D40CD97C4E6D.jpeg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmfUaWsnVgoecNcRmnzdmfQ8kE6QXHYuCRHhySJb6qVzTs/89656765-248D-430D-8C8C-D40CD97C4E6D.jpeg)
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**Let those cool while you work on the other components.**
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## Raspberry Filling 
* Combine berries, lemon juice and sugar into a pan and cook over low heat until juices release and you get a good consistency. 

* Then combine your corn starch and cool water in a separate cup and stir until corn starch dissolves. Pour into raspberry mixture and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and let cool. 
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![3BC4D10A-94F5-4CAA-87E1-02D15371D744.jpeg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmbqkWF8a1HZ1bi8XJX6nckWjkaH6Fc8rewfue34Xnqyui/3BC4D10A-94F5-4CAA-87E1-02D15371D744.jpeg)

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## Chocolate Ganache Filling

* Add cream and chocolate in a pan over low heat, stirring frequently until chocolate melts. When mixture comes together, remove from heat. 
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![7384CC79-0CD1-45AF-8B4A-F1AE2784E11D.jpeg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmYg514PmcmYVhuWZMJ4wnBdbvpXnTCL9zucmuiYBPzFnu/7384CC79-0CD1-45AF-8B4A-F1AE2784E11D.jpeg)

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## Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

* Beat your softened butter and cream cheese in mixer until combined and smooth. 

* Add melted chocolate and mix until combined.

* Add about half of powered sugar, and half of the cream and mix. 

* Add rest of powdered sugar and mix until smooth. 

* Add in rest of cream, little by little until you get the right consistency and beat for 2 mins. 

**Frosting should have a mousse-like consistency.**

*Sorry for no photos...*

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# Assembling The Cake 🎂 
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Ok now that you have all the goodies done, your cakes should be cooled and you can start putting it together.

Of course I didn’t take any photos of assembling the cakes.. *because that would have been silly.* 🤦🏻‍♀️ So we shall use descriptive words and our imaginations! Sound good? Ok great!

Alright - remove one cake out of it's pan and set on your serving dish of choice. 

* You are going to use your cream cheese frosting to make a “dam” all around the layer. I use a gallon zip lock bag for this. I just put some of the frosting in a bag, remove air and seal, cut one of the corners and then you have an okie pastry bag.. *feel free to use a real pastry bag if you want..*

* Then inside the circular dam you just made pour about 1/4 cup Ganache Filling and spread to edges. 

* Add about 1/2 cup of raspberry filling over the Ganache and spread to edges. 

**Add next layer of Cake and Repeat Fillings.**
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![3AFD9DDA-0614-4D73-B534-CD2367A2858C.jpeg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmSmFd1Qv5TdkSyJUdFKm7NWZPGvhRE6Ti1YSpWV1VCi2r/3AFD9DDA-0614-4D73-B534-CD2367A2858C.jpeg)

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## Frosting the Cake
* Now that you have your layers assembled you just want to do a “crumb cover” around the edges. I use the same bag to fill the gaps between the layers with frosting, then take a butter knife to smooth the edges. 

* Then just cover the rest of the cake with your cream cheese frosting and give it a good swirl with your knife. 

* Drizzle the top with remaining Ganache (optional)


![C2B3E3D9-8BA3-4699-91FF-910B4C1B2DB2.jpeg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmaqKy4YnEf34h1mN9FVBYUAHxiw3FBXEGq3hyv5vG8w9n/C2B3E3D9-8BA3-4699-91FF-910B4C1B2DB2.jpeg)

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**For decoration I just piled some fresh raspberries on top with a simple sign. You can of course get as creative as you want here** 😉
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![A034D593-DEDF-4A7A-9494-9F8A14B3DA0D.jpeg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmdBrfoNjmyWYfcPvirq3BZhQkSx76sJpEaqDpf5v5p6k7/A034D593-DEDF-4A7A-9494-9F8A14B3DA0D.jpeg)
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**And there you have it!**
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![345260C0-0104-4EA4-893C-669F4D88EDB0.jpeg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmfL5YxSxmj3Kp8QN2rtpVJeGTwuedu5V1rqzkteYrhfzu/345260C0-0104-4EA4-893C-669F4D88EDB0.jpeg)

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I’m not going to lie - *this Cake was ridiculous.* A perfect combination of indulgent chocolate and tart berries, with a not too sweet whipped frosting.  I even had orders placed at the party to make the cake for their upcoming events ☺️

*Now I just have to come up with excuses to make it on a regular basis...*

Like maybe a Wednesday 🤷‍♀️
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Hope you are having a lovely week... and you know, *cake can only make it better...* 🍰

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Much Love,

Justine

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