This Dark Chocolate Raspberry Cake is so decadent, moist, fudgy and delicious! It's also very striking as a table centerpiece. It's easy to make despite how fancy it looks and it starts with two layers of moist chocolate cake with a fresh raspberry chocolate mousse filling and covered in a fudgy dark chocolate ganache frosting. This is a cake for special occasions, however when you discover how easy it is to prepare, you may be making it more often! I also think this cake would be ideal for Valentine's Day. If you prefer a pure chocolate cake, be sure to check out my most popular Moist Chocolate Cake recipe, and also the smaller version: Ultimate Moist Chocolate Fudge Cake.
WHY YOU WILL LOVE THIS RECIPE
- Easy one bowl recipe - this cake can be made in one bowl with a whisk! You don't need a mixer, although you certainly can if you want.
- Moist fudgy chocolate cake - the cake is SO super moist! It has the softest texture and stays moist for days.
- Rich chocolate flavor - you will love the smooth and rich chocolate taste that shines through these cake layers.
- Fresh raspberry chocolate mousse - the filling is a beautiful fruity tart and sweet chocolate mousse made with fresh raspberries.
- Fresh raspberry filling - in addition to mashed raspberries incorporated into the mousse, there are also whole fresh raspberries throughout.
- Fudgy chocolate frosting - I use a rich chocolate ganache made with sour cream for the frosting. It is so easy to make and you don't need softened butter nor icing sugar. It's simple and so decadent and fudgy! Many people have told me this is the best frosting they've ever made!
INGREDIENTS
Here are some notes about the ingredients. For a full list of ingredients, check out the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- All purpose flour - you do not need specialty cake flour to make a wonderful chocolate cake. Just be sure to measure your flour correctly! Adding too much flour is the most common mistake and leads to tough and dry cake. The most accurate way to measure flour is using a scale. If you don't have one then fluff your flour with a spoon, spoon it into your measuring cup and use a knife to level it off. This batter is meant to be quite runny so refrain from adding more flour to make it thicker.
- Granulated sugar - simple white sugar will keep this cake sweet and moist.
- Pure vanilla extract - vanilla is essential to enhance the flavor of the chocolate. Do not leave it out!
- Cocoa powder - you can make due with cheap flour, sour cream, milk and oil but you should get your hands on some good quality cocoa powder! It's the main flavor and you want it to shine so use the best you can find. I love to use this Dutch Process cocoa powder for this recipe. Make sure you use unsweetened cocoa powder and not cocoa mix.
- Chocolate chips - I fold mini dark chocolate chips into the batter and they mostly melt right in giving you these little fudgy pieces throughout the cake. It's divine! Mini chocolate chips will suspend better and wont fall to the bottom of the cake like the larger size.
- Eggs - two whole eggs will set the structure of this cake and help emulsify the batter.
- Sour cream - one of the secrets to the best moist chocolate cake recipe is sour cream! And a lot of it. Sour cream contributes the dairy undertones, rich flavor and body (thanks to its high protein and fat content) that oil-based cakes lack. Full fat sour cream adds richness and dairy notes to this cake in the absence of butter.
- Oil - this is an oil-based cake. Although I LOVE BUTTER, oil makes cakes ultra moist since it is liquid at room temperature. Plus, with this intense chocolate flavor and the sour cream, you won't miss the butter.
- Hot coffee - this recipe is unique in that uses hot coffee in the batter. The hot liquid dissolves the sugar and activates the leavening agents so that the cake begins to rise and set instantly. It is also the reason why this cake is so moist.
- Dark chocolate - you'll need pure dark chocolate to make the frosting. Anything between 50 and 70% cocoa solids will work, but I highly recommend dark chocolate with 60% cocoa solids. You can blend semisweet chocolate with my favorite bittersweet chocolate callets which are very convenient.
- Cream - you will need heavy whipping cream which has 35% milkfat to make the filling and the frosting.
- Raspberries - bright, tart fresh raspberries are the star here. You will mash some of them and mix them into the filling and then layer in whole raspberries too.
STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS
This recipe is SO EASY and you can make it all with a bowl and a whisk -- no mixer required if you don't have one!
- STEP 1). Combine dry ingredients. Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda into a large bowl. Add sugar and salt and whisk to blend well.
- STEP 2). Combine wet ingredients. Combine eggs, melted butter, oil, sour cream and vanilla in a medium bowl and whisk to blend well.
- STEP 3). Mix wet and dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix with a whisk or an electric hand mixer on medium-low until blended. It will be thick and somewhat dry.
- STEP 4). Mix in hot coffee. Add the hot coffee gradually in two stages to minimize clumps forming and beat until evenly combined and the batter smooth. Fold in chocolate chips.
- STEP 5). Bake. Divide batter evenly between the prepared pans and bake for 24-28 minutes until cakes spring back when pressed gently and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer pans to a wire rack and let cool for 15 minutes before inverting onto the rack to cool completely.
- STEP 6). Assemble the cake. First prepare the frosting as per the instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of the page. Once the frosting is cooled, use some of the frosting to make the cream filling. Spread the filling over one layer of cake and poke some fresh raspberries into it. Place the second layer on top and cover the cake with the rich frosting.
EXPERT BAKING TIPS
- Use a neutral tasting oil like pure sunflower oil for the cleanest flavor to let the chocolate taste stand out.
- Do not reduce the sugar - the right amount of sugar will make cake moist because it binds water so that it stays tightly in the batter and doesn't evaporate excessively during baking.
- Keep an eye on the baking time. Set a timer for the first time stated in the recipe and check with a skewer -- it should come out clean.
- Do not use frozen raspberries - only fresh raspberries will work for this recipe because frozen berries will leach water once they thaw and it will breakdown the structure of the mousse filling.
RECIPE FAQ
Firstly - use a fresh oil! Do not use anything that's been opened for a long time and when you store oil, it should be in a cool dark place. Light and heat accelerate oxidation reactions that can make the flavor turn rancid. My oil of choice for baking is sunflower oil for its clean and neutral taste, but any other oil such as canola or safflower will do. You can even use olive oil, but keep in mind that it will add the taste of olive oil to the cake.
Sour cream really makes this cake delicious, but if sour cream is not available to you where you live, you can also make this recipe using an equal amount of full fat Greek yogurt. I have tested this and it worked well! and if you can't get sour cream where you live then you can substitute with fill fat Greek yogurt. Another suitable substitution is crème fraîche -- a type of fermented dairy product somewhere between yogurt and sour cream.
Yes! You can use hot water if you cannot drink caffeine. Or, you can use decaf coffee. You can also make instant coffee instead of brewing a fresh pot, and for this I suggest using 1-2 teaspoons of instant coffee for 1 cup of hot water.
It's not more fat! Moisture comes from liquid, not fat. So you can add more butter and more oil, but it will really just make the cake more dense and more tender by shortening the texture. Fat will not make a cake moist as only liquids can add moisture. This cake is moist because of the amount of liquid.
I normally scoff at a cake recipe that uses only oil and no butter since butter is superior for its flavor. However, oil makes the texture very soft and in turn gives the perception of "moistness". That's because oil is made up of mostly unsaturated fats that are liquid at room temperature. Butter contains more saturated fats that are solid at room temperature, therefore the texture of a butter cake will be more crumbly and firm.
If your cakes baked up flat, it may be that your raising agents are no longer active, so be sure to use fresh baking soda and fresh baking powder. It may also happen if you let the batter sit out for too long before baking. In this case the leavening agents will react in the batter and release gases before the batter sets and the gas will escape through the surface of the batter instead of being trapped as air bubbles in the cake crumb structure.
If you prefer to use a 9x13-inch pan, then try my One Bowl Chocolate Sheet Cake recipe! It is so fluffy, moist and fudgy with a dark chocolate cream cheese frosting.
Yes you can! It works great. In this case, bake them for 18-20 minutes.
If you prefer more frosting, you can easily double it or make 1.5x the recipe. The main change will be that it will take longer for it to thicken to a spreading consistency.
Yes! I often make the cake layers in advance and freeze them for when I need them. To do this, let the cake layers cool completely on a wire rack. Once cool, wrap them individually in plastic wrap, and then wrap them in tin foil. Place them in a resealable plastic bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
I'd say it's Hershey's Perfect Chocolate Cake recipe from an old cookbook I have. Ina Garten's Beatty's Chocolate Cake is also quite popular, however this recipe is not to my taste due to the imbalance of chemical leavening (far too much baking soda) and high amount of sugar. My recipe has the right amount of baking soda that won't leave you with a soapy taste and creates nice lightly domed even layers. It's also just the right amount of sugar to make this cake moist without being too sweet or gummy.
Sugar and liquid will create a moist cake among several other things. Having the right proportions of wet and dry ingredients is important when creating a moist cake recipe. Sugar is hygroscopic which means that it strongly binds water and will hold moisture in. Being cautious to not over-mix will also ensure that the cake is soft.
If you love cake, check out these recipes!
Ultimate Moist Chocolate Fudge Cake Lemon Pistachio Cake Sticky Toffee Date Cake Moist Lemon Blueberry Bread Olive Oil Chocolate Bundt Cake Best Vanilla Cupcake Recipe with Chocolate Fudge Frosting Chocolate Chip Banana Cake with Creamy Milk Chocolate Frosting Blueberry Peach Upside Down CakeVideo
Dark Chocolate Raspberry Cake
Ingredients
Cake batter:
- 2 cups (284g) all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cup (56g) cocoa powder (I prefer this one)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ cups (300g) granulated sugar
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup (60ml) sunflower oil
- ⅓ cup (75g) unsalted butter, melted
- ¾ cup (180ml) full fat sour cream
- 1 teaspoon (5ml) pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (240ml) hot coffee
- ½ cup (85g) mini dark chocolate chips
Chocolate Fudge Frosting:
- 1 cup (237ml) 35% whipping cream
- 3 tablespoon (45ml) honey
- 2 tablespoon (28g) unsalted butter
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 10 oz (284g) dark chocolate, finely chopped
- ½ cup (120ml) full fat sour cream
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Filling:
- ¾ cup 180ml Chocolate Fudge Frosting
- ½ cup 120ml 35% heavy whipping cream
- ½ cup 60g fresh raspberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease and flour two 8-inch round cake pans and line the base with rounds of parchment paper. I never need to grease the sides of my pans, but you can brush with melted butter or oil and dust some flour over it. Tap out the excess flour.
- Make the cake batter. Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda into a large bowl. Add sugar and salt and whisk to blend well.
- Combine eggs, oil, melted butter, sour cream and vanilla in a medium bowl and whisk to blend well. Pour it into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix with an electric hand mixer on medium-low until blended. It will be thick and somewhat dry. Add the hot coffee gradually in two stages to minimize clumps forming and beat until evenly combined and the batter smooth. Fold in mini chocolate chips.
- Spread batter into prepared pan and bake for 24-28 minutes until cakes spring back when pressed gently and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer pans to a wire rack and let cool for 15 minutes before inverting onto the rack to cool completely.
- Make the frosting. Place chopped chocolate in a medium bowl. Heat 1 cup of cream in a small saucepan until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and pour it over the chocolate in the bowl. Add honey or corn syrup, butter, vanilla and salt and whisk gently until smooth and glossy. Whisk in sour cream. Cover the bowl, place it in the freezer and stir every 5 minutes until thickened but not stiff. It will take 30-40 minutes. If you use the fridge it will take over an hour. Place the bowl in the fridge for about 20 minutes until thickened. Do not leave it in much longer or it will set up firm. If it is still really runny, then place it back in the fridge for another 5 minutes. Once thick like warm pudding, beat with a whisk until thick and lightened a bit. Stop whisking if it starts to look matte and thick - just whip a few times but it should still stay glossy. It will firm up as you spread it.
- Make the filling. Take ¾ cup of the frosting and place in another medium bowl. Whip the remaining ½ cup of cream to firm peaks and fold it in. Mash up ½ cup (60g) of raspberries with a fork and fold it in. Spread most of this filling over one cake layer. Scatter some fresh raspberries over the filling, then spread a bit more of the chocolate mousse over top to seal them in. Place the second layer on top.
- Use the frosting immediately. Spread it over cooled cake layers right away and avoid spreading around too much which will make it stiffen up.
Laura
This cake was easy to make and absolutely delicious! My boyfriend isn't a fan of buttercream so this was a fantastic alternative. My only question is about the ganache frosting. I made the cake several hours before it was being served at a party, so I put it in the fridge during that time. The frosting didn't really soften back up to its original form even after coming to room temp. Is that to be expected? It was still delicious but when I first made it, it was so silky smooth and loved the texture. Any tips if you're making this ahead of time to maintain that texture?
christina.marsigliese
Thank you Laura! The frosting does firm up, but maybe it dried out a bit in the fridge. Was it covered/tented or in a cake container?