I dreamed up my chocolate raspberry cake recipe when I first started the website, and it has been a go-to for me whenever I want to make something special. It uses my #1 go-to chocolate cake recipe. It’s the one I’ve turned to time and time again when I want to impress, celebrate, or simply indulge. I pair it with a sweet and tart raspberry buttercream and a delish chocolate ganache. One bite just ain’t enough. Get at it.
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How to make a Raspberry Chocolate Cake
How To Make The Chocolate Cake
- Add eggs and sugar to the bowl of your stand mixer and beat.
- Add cocoa powder, instant coffee powder, and salt to hot water. Add to eggs and sugar.
- Next add flour, baking soda, and baking powder then add vegetable oil, buttermilk, and vanilla extract to the mixer and beat until just combined.
- Evenly add cake batter to all three pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Make The Chocolate Ganache
- Heat heavy cream in a small saute’ pan until it just begins to boil. Remove from heat and add in chocolate.
- Next, whisk together cream and chocolate until nice and smooth. Whisk in corn syrup and vanilla extract.
Make the Buttercream
- Beat butter and jam together using an electric mixer set on medium speed until fluffy. Add confectioners’ sugar and beat until smooth.
Frost the Cake
- Spread filling between 3 cake layers.
- Ice the rest of the cake with the remaining buttercream and refrigerate.
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Finish Off The Cake
- Remove the cake from the refrigerator and pour warm ganache over the middle of the top of the cake and allow it to drip down the sides. Let the ganache set for about 30 minutes before serving. And if you would like, garnish with fresh raspberries.
Raspberry Chocolate Cake Recipe
This Raspberry Chocolate Cake is life changing. It is a dark chocolate cake with raspberry buttercream that you will keep making over and over.
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Servings: 8 servings
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour sifted
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee powder
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 cup hot water
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup buttermilk
For the Raspberry Buttercream:
- 2 cups unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups raspberry jam strained and seeds discarded
- 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
For the Chocolate Ganache:
- 4 oz. bittersweet chocolate finely chopped
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cup light corn syrup
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- Fresh raspberries for garnish
Instructions
For the Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray 3 9 inch round pans with non-stick baking spray.
- Add eggs and sugar to bowl of your stand mixer and beat on high speed for 2-3 minutes.
- While mixture beats, add cocoa powder, instant coffee powder and salt to hot water. Add to eggs and sugar.
- Next slow down mixer and add flour, baking soda, and baking powder then add vegetable oil, buttermilk and vanilla extract to the mixer and beat until just combined. Batter will be sort of thin but this is normal.
- Evenly add cake batter to all three pans and bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before removing from pans to cool completely.
For the Buttercream:
- Beat butter and jam together using an electric mixer set on medium speed until fluffy. Add confectioners’ sugar and beat until smooth. Spread filling between 3 cake layers.
- Ice the rest of the cake with remaining buttercream and refrigerate for 20–25 minutes.
For the Ganache:
- Heat heavy cream in a small saute’ pan over medium heat until it just begins to boil. Remove from heat and add in chocolate. Allow to sit for 2 minutes.
- Next whisk together cream and chocolate until nice and smooth.
- Whisk in in corn syrup and vanilla extract.
- Remove cake from refrigerator and pour warm ganache over the middle of the top of the cake and allow to drip down the sides.
- Let the ganache set for about 30 minutes before serving. And if you would like, garnish with fresh raspberries.
Notes
How to Store
Just cover it well with plastic wrap or place it in an airtight container to prevent it from drying out and place in the fridge. If you don’t add the fresh raspberries on top, you can store it at room temperature for 2-3 days.How Long Will It Last?
When properly stored, the cake can last up to 5 days in the fridge. Remember to keep it well-covered.Can I Freeze it?
Absolutely! If you’d like to make the cake in advance or save leftovers for later, this cake freezes well. Just ensure it’s cooled completely, then wrap the cake (or pieces of it) tightly in plastic wrap, followed by a layer of aluminum foil. You can freeze it for up to 3 months. When you want to serve again, thaw overnight in the fridge and then bring it to room temperature before serving.Nutrition
Calories: 1553kcal | Carbohydrates: 190g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 88g | Saturated Fat: 41g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 18g | Monounsaturated Fat: 22g | Trans Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 189mg | Sodium: 565mg | Potassium: 348mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 141g | Vitamin A: 1761IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 132mg | Iron: 4mg
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Recipe Tips
- Quality of Ingredients: This cake is all about quality. I use quality chocolate and jam to make a difference in the flavor in the end.
- Use Room Temperature Eggs: Cold eggs can harden the fat and make the batter lumpy.
- Sift Dry Ingredients: Always sift your flour and cocoa powder to get rid of any lumps so the cake texture is smooth.
- Cool Cake Completely: If the cake is even slightly warm, it will melt the buttercream.
- Don’t Overmix the Batter: Once the flour is added, be sure to mix just until it’s combined so it won’t end up dense.
Recipe Help
Can I use fresh raspberries in the buttercream?
I honestly don’t recommend. Raspberries naturally hold a lot of moisture and the excess moisture can cause the buttercream to become too thin and spoil faster. Using the jam will extend the shelf life and make it taste super fruity.
What if I don’t have buttermilk?
If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you can make your own. Add one tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to one cup of regular milk and let it sit for about 10 minutes. It will slightly curdle, creating a good buttermilk substitute.
More Cake recipes
- Southern Caramel Cake
- Carrot Cake
- Hummingbird Cake
- Black Forest Cake
- Banana Cake
- Funfetti Cake
- White Cake Recipe
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This sounds delicious! Can 8in round cake pans be used instead of 9in round pans?
Yes, but you’ll have leftover batter.
What about adding a raspberry filling instead of the butter cream between the layers?
Yep this recipe would be great for that as well.
Does the raspberry buttercream have enough stability to use for decorations, like roses and such? or is it better left as just a thick crumb coat?
It’s actually better left as a thick crumb coat.
What’s the best way to strain the seeds from the raspberry jam
A fine mesh strainer is going to be best.
Hi, I’m a bit confused about the buttermilk. I’m from the UK and it says 1 cup or 1.5 teaspoons – can this be right? When I look at my cup to metric converter 1 cup of liquid is 225ml which is a lot more than 1.5 teaspoons!! Thank you! 🙂
Hi Caroline, where do you see that in the instructions? I just reviewed the recipe again and it only calls for 1 cup.
It looks like the U.S. to metric converter is not converting properly, because I get the same thing when I click for metric. It also, bizarrely, changes the quantity of eggs from 2 to 3. I don’t know if this is something the author can correct, or maybe best to just remove that link to the converter.
Hmm.. thanks for bringing this to my attention. It is not something I can fix as it’s an application that helps switch the measurements out.
Is it possible to use 2 cake pans instead of 3?
You can, but you’ll be left with some batter.
I made your recipe for a work event OMG!!! It was amazing thank you so much
This makes me so so happy. Thank you!
I don’t normally leave reviews for recipes cause I do a lot of tweaking to make food to the tasting my family likes but this one I left as is and it was amazing! My family enjoyed this cake very much! We thank you!
Thank you for making it for your family!!