Double Chocolate Cake with Spiked Raspberry Filling


 Though I say I will stay away from making desserts I simply cannot. It is the one thing I enjoy making and consuming but it is very easy to find someone to bake for, usually. When we have company over for dinner, it seems as though Ryan and I discuss the dessert options before planning the meal itself. I mean, sometimes the dessert makes the meal, right?

 To make matters more challenging, not worse, I decided to take Wilton cake decorating classes. Since I enjoy baking and making cakes, I decided it was high time I learned to decorate my cakes better than I have. I have always been one to take classes rather than to teach myself because, well, I like interacting with the teacher and chatting with others. I LIKE it!

One of the things I realized that attending an evening class after being busy with two small girls makes it very challenging coming prepared to class with baked cakes, cupcakes and being set up with all the cake decorating equipment. I probably failed my prep class tonight because I hardly had half the items I needed for my class, but like I told my husband, I managed and succeeded in decorating my first cake. Not only was I happy and tired but the class was also therapeutic.

 What exactly did I really need to learn from a class that I could not learn on my own? Well, probably nothing that I could not read, but I learned the difference between three icing consistencies. The stiff icing was perfect for cake flowers and decorations while the medium icing was great for filling and the thin consistency was all about the cake topping. I learned in my first class how to cook a cake evenly and even how to slice a cake evenly in order to add filling. What was most exciting was learning how to not let the filling seep from the middle outside the cake. Yes!

Now who wants the cake I prepared tonight? Any birthdays out there? I will drop it off for you.

 Before I started these evening classes I decided to make a chocolate cake for our guests who came to dinner a few weeks back. Even though I knew I enjoyed making cake, I really did not know what kind of icing to make especially since I only half a stick of butter so I went with a frosting instead. It totally did not come out the way I wanted and was disappointed and wondered what I did but then I realized that the amount of liquid to bring the frosting consistency together has to be done carefully or else the frosting comes out too thin which is what I did.


Even so, the cake turned out to be a great hit especially since it was chocolate. I spiked the preserves with vodka and then filled the cake with the filling and frosted the cake with a chocolate cream cheese frosting. All in all, it was super moist and decadent. Our friends were surprised I even had time to bake it which honestly enough, I was too.

 Having a hard time deciding what to make this weekend? Make this cake and bring everyone together to talk about the resurrection of Jesus. I know some people on Instagram have been requesting to see the recipe. So enjoy!
Double Chocolate Cake with Spiked Raspberry Filling

cake recipe by King Arthur Flour
filling by Noelle Kelly
frosting by Allrecipes.com
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes


Ingredients (10 slices)
Cake
2 cups King Arthur Unbleached Cake Flour

 Spiked Raspberry Filling

 Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Instructions

Cake
Place a strainer over a large mixing bowl. Measure in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cocoa, and sugar. Sift/shake the dry ingredients through the strainer into a mixing bowl, to eliminate any lumps.

Add the butter and mix at low speed for 1 minute. With the mixer running, add the oil and continue mixing until the mixture looks like sand.

Combine the vanilla with the milk and coffee or water, and add all at once. Mix for 1 minute at low speed, stop and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, then mix for 30 seconds.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating well at medium-high speed between additions. The batter will be thin.

Pour the batter into two 9" round pans. Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 28 to 30 minutes for 9" layers. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack before frosting.

Spiked Raspberry Filling
Mix the raspberry filling with the vodka and mix well.

Chocolate Cheese Frosting
In a bowl, beat together the cream cheese,confectioner's sugar, butter, vanilla, cocoa, and cinnamon. Add 1 Tablespoon at a time of milk to make sure you get spreadable consistency. Beat in additional milk if necessary. For a darker frosting add more cocoa or up to 4 ounces melted chocolate. Spread onto cooled cake.

Assembly
Cut each cake round in evenly in half. Place one cake round base on a cake plate. Divide the raspberry preserves and spread evenly over cake layer. Top with another cake layer and add the rest of the raspberry filling. Add the last cake layer and frost the cake with a spatula and spread frosting evenly around the cake until complete.
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