Chocolate Raspberry Cake
This decadent Chocolate Raspberry Cake Recipe has a homemade chocolate cake, tangy raspberry filling made from fresh raspberries, and frosted with a rich chocolate buttercream frosting. It's the perfect chocolate cake with raspberry filling to serve up this Valentine's Day or for any occasion.
Jump to:
If you are a fan of chocolate and raspberry desserts, give this chocolate raspberry cake recipe a try. A chocolate cake, with raspberry sauce, and a homemade chocolate frosting. This is one incredible recipe to try.
If you need more raspberry desserts, check out this Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake with a layer of chocolate cheesecake and a layer of raspberry cheesecake or these Raspberry Cheesecake Stuffed Fudge Cookies.
If you have fresh raspberries to use up, try my favorite raspberry crisp recipe!
How to make a Chocolate Raspberry Cake
Raspberry Sauce - Start by mixing the sugar and cornstarch together in a saucepan. This will help prevent the cornstarch from clumping as you add the wet ingredients.
Add the raspberries, lemon juice, and water to the saucepan and let it come to a boil over medium heat. Boil for 3 minutes until it thickens while stirring constantly.
Discover what favorite pumpkin desserts should be at your Thanksgiving table this year
You can choose to strain out the seeds or leave them in at this point. Get a fine mesh strainer and push the hot sauce through it using a silicone spatula until all that remains in the strainer are the raspberry seeds.
Cover the sauce and place in the fridge to chill.
Homemade Chocolate Cake - I love this chocolate cake recipe because it's so easy to whip up. Start by whisking the melted butter, vegetable oil, and cocoa powder together until smooth. I like to use a large 4-cup liquid measuring cup, but a medium bowl will work too.
Next up, whisk in the buttermilk, sour cream, vanilla extract, and eggs until the eggs are well incorporated.
In a large bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients until well combined, and then pour in the liquid ingredients in with the dry ingredients. Whisk until the cake batter is smooth.
Pour into two prepared 8-inch cake pans and bake until the top bounces back when gently touched with your finger or a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean or with moist crumbs.
Chocolate Frosting - Once the cake is cooled and you are ready to assemble whip up this chocolate buttercream frosting.
Start by adding the butter, half of the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, and half of the heavy cream to a bowl. Beat with a hand mixer or stand mixer on low until most of the powdered sugar is incorporated. Turn the mixer on medium and beat until incorporated.
Add the remaining powdered sugar and heavy cream. Beat on low once again until the powdered sugar is almost completely worked into the frosting. Turn the mixer on medium/high and whip until light and fluffy.
How to make Raspberry Filling
Start by adding sugar and cornstarch to a saucepan, and then mix until combined. Pour in the raspberries, lemon juice, and water. You will want to stir and coat the berries in the cornstarch mixture.
Cook and let the raspberry mixture come to a boil. Then allow it to boil for 3 minutes. Make sure to stir constantly, or it will burn.
Remove from heat, and then let it cool down in the fridge as directed.
Seedless Option - Use a fine-mesh strainer to press the sauce through, to discard all the seeds.
Seeded Option - If you want you are more than welcome to leave the seeds in the sauce. If so, just take the cooled sauce and use it right away, no extra steps needed.
Tips and Tricks
- When making this chocolate cake recipe, always add the liquid to the dry ingredients to avoid the dry ingredients forming lumps in the batter.
- Using a cake leveler or a serrated knife to slice the cakes so they're flat. This is make layering the cakes easier and more steady.
- To fill the cake with the raspberry filling, first create a dam with the chocolate buttercream around the outside edge of the cake. I like to place my frosting in a piping bag fitted with a large tip and make the dam.
- You can skip cutting the two cakes in half and half the raspberry filling recipe to make a 2 layer cake rather than a 4 layer cake.
How to decorate Chocolate Raspberry Cake
I swirled on tall swirls of chocolate frosting with fresh raspberries on top of each swirl.
You could add chocolate drips to the cake by making a ganache and adding it to the chilled cake.
Add crushed up freeze-dried raspberries on top of the cake for flecks of pink.
Storage
Your chocolate raspberry cake is best when stored in the refrigerator because of the filling. Just cover well in an airtight container or cake container, and refrigerate for up to 5 days. Slice and serve, and enjoy. The cake may dry out a bit as the days pass once it's cut into. So it is best within the first few days of cutting the cake.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you want to make a shortcut, go right ahead and use a raspberry jam in replace of the raspberry filling. It will change the flavor just a bit, but it should convert easily! Just spread on, and assemble cake.
If you want to freeze your cake, you can place your cake in a freezer friendly container, and then freeze for up to 3 months. If you want you can also grab some aluminum foil or plastic wrap, to double coat the cake. Then place in a container to ensure it doesn't freezer burn. That method, you will mess up the frosting, but it does work on protecting the flavor of the cake best.
Yes! When you add the vanilla extract, feel free to add your favorite raspberry extract. I would start with ½ a teaspoon of extract and add more for more flavor.
More Cakes to Try
- Fresh Strawberry Cake
- Cannoli Cake
- Pumpkin Cake with Brown Butter Frosting
- Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Chocolate Raspberry Cake
Ingredients
Raspberry Sauce
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 cups fresh raspberries
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons water
Chocolate Cake
- ¼ cup butter melted
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup full-fat sour cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ½ cups cake flour
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
Chocolate Frosting
- 2 cup butter room temperature
- 8 cups powdered sugar divided
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder sifted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream divided
Instructions
Raspberry Sauce
- In a medium saucepan, add in the sugar and cornstarch. Stir until combined.
- Add in the raspberries, lemon juice, and water. Stir until the raspberries are coated with the sugar and cornstarch mixture.
- Place over medium heat and let come up to a boil while occasionally stirring.
- Once the mixture comes up to a boil, allow to boil for 3 minutes while stirring constantly.
- Remove from the heat and place in a heat-proof bowl. Place a piece of plastic wrap on top, gently pressing it down until it touches the sauce, and place in the fridge to chill and set up for about 4 hours.
- If you would like the sauce to be seedless, once you remove it from the heat, pour half of the sauce into a fine-mesh strainer that's sitting on a mixing bowl. Use a spatula to work the sauce through the sieve. Discard the seeds. Repeat with the remaining half of the sauce. Then place the plastic wrap on the bowl, gently pressing it so it touches the top of the sauce, and place it in the fridge.
Chocolate Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and spray two 8 inch cake pans with nonstick baking spray. Place a parchment circle in the bottom of each pan and add about 1 tablespoon of flour or cocoa powder to dust the sides of the pan. Gently tap the pan and turning it while it's on its side to coat the sides of the pan. Tap out any excess flour.
- In a medium bowl, add in the melted butter, vegetable oil, and cocoa powder. Whisk until smooth.
- Add in the buttermilk, sour cream, and vanilla. Whisk until incorporated.
- Whisk in both of the eggs until combined.
- In a large mixing bowl, add in cake flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk until blended.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Whisk until everything is combined and most of the lumps have disappeared.
- Divide the batter evenly into the two prepared cake pans.
- Place into the preheated oven and bake for 28 to 33 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean or with moist crumbs.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool about 15 minutes in the pan before turning out onto a wired rack to cool completely.
Chocolate Frosting
- Add the butter, 4 cups powdered sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, and ¼ cup of heavy cream in a large mixing bowl. Beat until creamy and smooth.
- Add in the remaining 4 cups of powdered sugar and the remaining ¼ cup of heavy cream to the bowl. Beat until the frosting is light and fluffy.
- Cover with plastic wrap until ready to use.
Assemble the Cake
- Using a cake leveler or cake knife, cut the cooled chocolate cakes in half.
- Add about â…“ of the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a Wilton 1M piping tip.
- Swipe a small amount of frosting to the center of the cake plate.
- Place one layer of the cake on a cake plate, cut side down. Gently press down.
- Pipe a ring of frosting around the inside edge of the cake.
- Add ½ cup (a little less if you're using seedless sauce) of raspberry sauce to the center of the cake layer. Spread evenly out with an angled spatula.
- Add the next layer of chocolate cake cut side down and gently press it down until the frosting squishing and the cake layer is even.
- Repeat with adding the frosting, raspberry sauce, and layers of cake until you get to the last layer of chocolate cake.
- Add a big dollop of chocolate frosting on top of the cake. Make sure it's more than you think is needed to frosting the top so it gets pushed over the edges of the cake.
- Using a large angled spatula, begin spreading the frosting out. If you're finding the cake is moving a lot, I use my thumb and index to hold the layer on the opposite side of where my angled spatula is and move the spatula towards my thumb and index finger.
- Once the frosting is smoothed out, add frosting to the sides of the cake and begin smoothing it out evenly.
- For a smoother finish, dip the angled spatula in hot water. Wipe off the water and slowly move it straight up and down along the frosting. Repeat every time you pull the spatula area from the frosting.
- Pipe swirls of frosting on top of the cake with the remaining frosting in the piping bag. You can add more frosting if needed.
Nutrition
(Nutrition facts are an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietitian for special diet advice.)
