Perfect Chocolate Cake with Frosting

This cake is amazing. I have never had anyone NOT love it. The frosting is a little time consuming but it is totally worth it. It is like spreadable fudge it so good. I got it and changed a little from the Cake Doctor book so the best part is that the recipe for the cake starts with a mix and is super easy. Original recipe omits the raspberries so if you don't like them , don't have them or just don't want to use them you can.

Perfect Chocolate Cake
Solid vegetable shortening for greasing the pans
Flour for dusting the pans
1 package (10 ounces) frozen raspberries packed with sugar, thawed
1 package (18.25 ounces) devil’s food cake mix
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously grease three 9-inch round cake pans with solid vegetable shortening, then dust with flour. Shake out the excess flour. Set the pans aside.

2. Place the cake mix, water, sour cream, oil, vanilla and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed. The batter should look well blended. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans, smoothing it out with the rubber spatula. Place the pans in the oven side by side, or if your oven is not large enough, place two pans on the center rack and the third pan in the center of the highest rack.

3. Bake the cakes until they spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 20 to 25 minutes. Check the pan on the highest rack first, as it will bake the quickest. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 10 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edge of each layer and invert each onto a rack, then invert again onto another rack so that the cakes are right side up. Allow to cool completely, 30 minutes more.

4. Meanwhile, prepare the Sweetened Cream (see recipe below)

5. Place one cake layer, right side up, on a serving platter. Spread the top with half of the sweetened cream, spreading it to within 1/2 inch of the sides. Place the second layer, right side up, on top of the first layer and spread with the remaining sweetened cream to within 1/2 inch of the sides. Place the third layer, right side up, on top of the second layer. Cover cake lightly with waxed paper, place in fridge
to chill.

6. Prepare the Perfect Chocolate Frosting (see recipe below)

7. To finish the assembly, spread the top and sides of cake with frosting. Slice and serve.


Sweetened Cream
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla or almond extract

1. Chill a large, clean mixing bowl and electric mixer beaters in freezer for a few minutes while you assemble ingredients.

2. Pour the cream into the chilled bowl, and beat with the electric mixer on high speed until it thickens, 1.5 minutes. Stop the machine and add the confectioners' sugar and the extract. beat the cream on high speed until stiff peaks form, 1 to 2 minutes more.


Perfect Chocolate Frosting
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup half and half
1 cup butter, cut into tablespoon sizes
2.5 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

1. Place a large bowl, filled with ice, in the sink (a bowl that is large enough to hold the pot that you will cook the frosting in).

2. In a medium size saucepan over med low heat; melt chocolate, cream, and butter. Stirring constantly, cook the mixture until all of the butter and chocolate melts and thickens, 5-6 minutes. DO NOT LET BOIL (I have done this and it is ruined, do not even waste your time continuing, start over). Remove pan from heat.

3. Whisk in the sifted confectioners' sugar until mixture becomes smooth (approximately 1 minute). Then place the pan in the bowl of ice. Be careful to not allow any ice or water from the larger bowl to get into pot with the chocolate mixture. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 4-5 minutes until frosting becomes satiny and fudgelike in appearance (you will think this may never happen but all of a sudden it is like magic that it turns into a frosting like consistency).

The frosting will thicken as it sets up, if the frosting gets too hard to spread, put back on LOW heat and stir constantly until you get the spreading consistency desired.