Chocolate Cake with Fresh Raspberry Buttercream and Chocolate Ganache

My nephew requested a chocolate cake with raspberry frosting for his birthday.  I don’t know if he was thinking it through about the fresh raspberries turning the buttercream frosting pink, but he is a real man who also eats quiche and didn’t mind!  The chocolate cake recipe is one of my favorites.  It uses oil and buttermilk instead of butter and is a really moist cake full of flavor with the addition of coffee, melted bittersweet chocolate and coco powder.  I used fresh raspberries and put them through a fine strainer to remove the seeds and added the puree to the buttercream frosting and it has a nice, fresh, raspberry taste.  I also spread a layer of raspberry jam in the center along with a layer of raspberry buttercream to drive the raspberry taste throughout the cake.  To give the cake a chocolate boost, I made a chocolate ganache and poured it in the center of the cake after I piped the decorations around the top and decorated with fresh raspberries.  If I had some fresh mint, I would have place some leaves next to the raspberries for a little more pop of color. The combination of chocolate and raspberries is delicious!  Click here for the recipe….