Chocolate Raspberry Mousse Cake with Ganache

Ingredients:

Daphne Oz' Chocolate Cake    

~ 1 3/4 cup flour

~ 2 cups sugar

~ 2 teaspoon baking soda

~ 1 teaspoon baking powder

~ 1/2 teaspoon of salt

~ 3/4 cup cocoa powder

~ 1 package of instant chocolate pudding mix (do not use sugar free)

~ 1 1/2 cups buttermilk (shaken)

~ 1/2 cup of avocado oil, olive oil, butter, canola oil or vegetable oil

~ 2 teaspoons of vanilla

~ 2 extra large eggs room temp

~ 1 1/2 cups boiled water

Raspberry Jam

~ 2 cups raspberries

~ 1 tablespoon pectin

~ 1/6 teaspoon butter

~ 1 cup sugar

~ 1 teaspoon lemon juice

(you can use store bought instead if you'd like)

Mousse

~ 2 cups heavy cream

~ 1 cup chocolate chips 

~ Splash of vanilla

~ 2 tablespoons cocoa powder

~ 2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Ganache

~ 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

~ 1/2 cups heavy cream

Instructions:

Chocolate Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease flour and line with parchment paper 3, 8 inch round cake pans.

2. In a large size bowl sift all the dry ingredients together including sugar and mix with whisk to combine.

3. In medium bowl combine butter milk, oil, vanilla, and eggs. Beat with a hand mixer for about a min on medium/high speed.

4. Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. Don't over mix! Stop and scrape the bowl and give it a quick mix by hand.

5. Bring your water to a boil wait about 30 seconds then take it off the stove and very slowly add in to your batter with the hand mixer.

6. Divide batter evenly in the all 3 cake pans, bake for 15 to 20 mins.

Raspberry Jam

1. Wash raspberries, in medium bowl with a fine mesh sieve over top, work raspberries through the sieve, really work the pulp to get all the juice out.

2. Pour sieved raspberries in to a large heavy bottom sauce pan. Stir in pectin and butter and bring to a full rolling boil over high heat stirring constantly. Quickly stir in sugar, return to boil stirring constantly, let boil 1 min stirring the whole time.

3. Remove from heat, skim off any foam with metal spoon. Ladle hot jam in to half pint canning jar, screw on lid and let cool to room temp and then store in fridge until ready to use. 

Mousse

1. In large bowl pour heavy cream, vanilla, cocoa and powdered sugar. Beat with hand mixer until peaks form.

2. Melt chocolate over double boiler just until fully melted. Remove from heat and let sit for 30 seconds. Add chocolate to heavy cream mixture and beat until thoroughly mixed.

Assemble Cake

1. Put a tablespoon of your mousse down in the middle of your cake plate. Lay down your first layer of cake. Spread thin coat of raspberry jam over the cake layer, about 4 or 5 tablespoons of jam. Put half your mousse on top of that. Put your next cake layer on and repeat the process. Add top layer of cake. Make sure its level and smooth the sides with a spatula. Let chill for at lest 30 mins.

Ganache

1. While your cake is chilling. Over double boiler heat heavy cream and chocolate together until smooth. Let sit in the fridge for 15 mins. 

Frosting Cake

1. Pull cake and ganache out of fridge and carefully spread ganache over cake on all sides and top. Refrigerate for at least an hour and enjoy!.

Note: I use Daphne Oz' version of Ina Garten's chocolate cake recipe, it is the very best!. Keeping it real, your cake will be slightly higher than mine that's pictured because I didn't realize until after my cakes were baked that my baking powder and soda were out of date hahaha, it was still great just extra fudgy lol. I hope you enjoy this decadent dessert just as much as we do!.