Decadent Double Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Raspberry Frosting

My daughter’s birthday usually falls on one of the days of ENDURrun. This year, it didn’t, so I was super excited to be there to make a cake for her.  Earlier in the week, she had told me she wanted an ice cream cake. In my head, I planned out the cake, including where I would shop to get all of the supplies I needed. However, as soon as I rolled into the driveway, she informed me she now wanted a chocolate cake…for dinner…around six hours later.  Okay, I can do this!

She choose chocolate really for me, so I can’t get upset at her for changing her mind. “Mommy, you love chocolate, right?” Since the cake was kinda really for me, I had to make it a extra chocolately.  I added in the raspberries to make it more fun for the kids and to have some sort of decoration that wasn’t chocolate. Raspberries make any cake look good.

I wouldn’t necessarily classify this as an “easy” recipe, but it is much less complicated than other cake recipes I have made. You can make it simpler by using prepared jam, or omitting the jam entirely. If you aren’t feeling the raspberry, feel free to switch out the type of jam, or simply omit. You can also pile the cake with tons of chocolate/candy, like my daughters decided to do after I took the picture.

MAKES 1 DOUBLE LAYER 9″ CAKE

INGREDIENTS

CAKE
– 3 cups all-purpose flour
– 2 cups organic cane sugar
– 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
– 2 teaspoon baking soda
– 1 teaspoon sea salt
– 3/4 cup baby chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life brand)
– 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
– 2 cups water
– 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
– 1 teaspoon almond extract
– 2 teaspoons unfiltered apple cider vinegar (e.g., Braggs)

JAM
– 6 oz raspberries
– 1 teaspoon lemon juice
– 1 Tablespoon of maple syrup

ICING
– 3 cups of icing sugar (confectioners sugar)
– 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
– 3/4 cup non-dairy butter, such as Earth Balance
– 1/3-1/2 cup of jam (depending on how fruity you want the icing)
– 3-4 Tablespoons of non-dairy milk

DIRECTIONS

CAKE
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Line two 9″ round pans with parchment paper. Lightly grease the sides with olive oil. (Note: I like using spring form pans because of how easy it is to remove the cake).
3. Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
4. Mix the wet ingredients in a medium bowl.
5. Fold the wet ingredients into the large bowl.
6. Divide the batter between the two pans. Smooth the tops.
7. Bake for 28-32 minutes. Do not overbake or cake will be dry.
8. Let rest in pan until cool.

JAM
While the cake is cooking, prepare the jam (or use prepared jam to save time).
1. Put all of the ingredients into a small pot and mix.
2. Over medium heat, cook the berries for 10 minutes, stirring regularly.
3. Once the berries have cooked down, remove from heat.
4. Puree the mixture in a high-powered blender until most of the seeds are non visible.
5. Let cool in fridge.

ICING
1. In a mixer, combine the butter and jam. Mix until fully incorporated.
2. Combine the cocoa and icing sugar in another bowl.
3. Add in 1/2 cup of icing sugar/cocoa mixture at a time. Mix well. If the mixture gets too thick, add in the milk, one tablespoon at a time. You may not need all of the milk.
4. Continue mixing until the icing is smooth and creamy.
5. Store in fridge until ready to assemble the cake.

ASSEMBLY
1. Remove cake from pans. If one of the layers has a large dome, use a serrated knife to level the top of the cake.
2. Place one layer on cake stand or platter.
3. Scoop roughly 1 cup of icing onto the first layer, and spread it over the top. I find that using an offset spatula really helps smooth out the icing.
4. Top the first layer of cake/icing with the second cake.
5. Continue to frost the the cake (top and sides) with the remainder of the icing. Note: if you are planning to add more decorations with the icing, such as a border, reserve some icing for that.
6. Decorate with fresh raspberries.

TIPS
– to help smooth out the icing, run your spatula under hot water and then wipe it off with a towel before smoothing the icing.
– decorating with fruit and additional icing helps hide inperfections!
– If the icing has been sitting for a long time in the fridge, whip the icing a bit before using to make it smooth and creamy again.