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 both sugars and salt and whisk to blend well, pressing out any lumps of brown sugar.
- 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 CakeDark 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 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 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. Line the base of two 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper. I never need to grease the sides of my pans, but you can if you want to.
- 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, 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.
melissa
Hi Sally,
My cakes have risen up in the middle and cracked, like a volcano! What have I done wrong? I'm doing a trial run for my friends 50th in 2 days! Hope you can help me! thank you
christina.marsigliese
Hi Sally, cracking is nothing to worry about. It's likely that your oven runs hot or that you used too much flour. Be sure to weigh your flour accurately and maybe lower your oven temperature a tad. You can always trim off the tops to level off the cakes too.
Dana
Hi! I’m making this cake tomorrow. It looks delicious, and I can’t wait to taste it. One question - how should I store the cake once completed assembled?
christina.marsigliese
Hi Dana, store it in the fridge and then bring it out to room temperature 1 hour before you plan to serve it. Enjoy!
KIKI
Hi my name is KIKI
I’m hoping to make this recipe soon.
I am not a big fan of sour cream.
Can I use plain yoghurt instead of the sour cream?
Phyllis
Hi Christina,
Love your recipes! & I love dessert!!! But as Asian we generally like it less sweet, is there a formula that we can cut down the sugar content but still maintain the moist texture of the cake? I usually settle with 30% less sugar from most recipe, would love to hear your professional opinion. Thank you!!!!
Stephanie
Thank you for this lovely recipe! I plan to make this for my niece’s birthday. I have two questions, can I substitute light corn syrup in place of honey in the frosting? And can I leave the mini dark chocolate chips out? Just wondering if either of these would affect the outcome of the cake? Thanks so much!
christina.marsigliese
Hi Stephanie, yes to both! Wish your niece a happy birthday for me!
Michelle Grant
My favorite two favorite things
Maru
Ik heb deze taart voor de verjaardag van mijn zoon gemakt!! Was geweldig..Erg lekker en makkelijke om te maken. Top Cake!!
Donna
Hello, great recipe! I can't wait to try it for my husband's birthday soon. For the frosting, you mentioned "use immediately", does that mean it has to be eaten immediately as well? Will it harden I the fridge or go bad at room temperature? I'm just trying to figure out how far in advance can I prepare the frosting and then frost the cake. Thank you!!
christina.marsigliese
Hi Donna, the frosting stiffens as it cools, so it’s best to work with it quickly if it is very cool in your house. It doesn’t spoil quickly though. It’s good for 2-3 days and then keep it in the fridge after that.
Irena
Christina the recipe was incredible! Exactly the amount of sweetness I love in cakes! I made it for my dad’s birthday and as always I didn’t have hopes that my mom would eat even a little slice because she doesn’t have a sweet tooth whatsoever! Oh boy was I wrong! She tried the tiniest bit and was stunned by how amazing it tasted! She even ate another slice the next day and the day after that! She even took some leftovers to her colleagues at work and received only positive comments!
The only thing I found a bit troubling about the recipe was that when I was assembling the layers, due to the fact that the filling was very light and the top layer very heavy for it, it poured out of the sides of the cake just a tiny little bit. Of course no one that tried the cake noticed this, it was just me because I am somewhat a perfectionist. Other than that, the cake’s taste was beyond words! Your recipes do not disappoint!
christina.marsigliese
Hi Irena, oh wow I'm so glad your family enjoyed it! Next time try piping a border of the fudge frosting around the perimeter of the bottom cake layer to hold in the filling, or leave an inch from the edges when you apply the filling. You can also add less filling so it doesn't squish out so much.
Diane
This cake is incredible and the frosting is out of this world!
Joni
Hi Christina. This cake looks and sounds delicious! I can't wait to try it. Was just wondering on the filling ingredients you say to take 1/2 cup of frosting, but in directions you say to use 3/4 cup frosting to mix in with the heavy cream. Did I miss something? Thanks. Just started following you on Instagram and all your sweets look yummy!
christina.marsigliese
Hi Joni, sorry about that - it should be 3/4 cup of frosting.