Double Chocolate Valentine

I knew I was going to love this cake just from reading the recipe.  What’s not to love, chocolate, more chocolate and raspberries, plus an easy to put together recipe and there you have it, dessert heaven.  I had another hectic week so I was really happy when I read this recipe and saw that not only was it easy to put together but I had everything I needed to make it right on the shelf, with the exception of the raspberries which I figured I would wait until I got to the market and saw how much of my house I was going to have to mortgage to buy them before I decided if I would use them or not.  I am not all that fussy when it comes to spending high prices for out of season fruit, if said fruit actually tastes like fruit instead of some dried out shoe leather.  When I got to the market raspberries were on sale this week.  2 pints for $7.00.  Such a bargain.  Well, the produce manager just happens to know me and he knows that I would make a fuss if I got them home and they were tasteless so he gave me a sample to assure me that my $7.00 would not go to waste.  Actually there was another lady there who was thinking the same thing so I felt better.  As much as I complain on here you would think I was the only one who cared about such things.  At any rate I got my raspberries and was back at home to make this yummy concoction in no time.

It really was very easy to put together.I mixed the cocoa and water together and allowed them to cool while I measured and assembled the other ingredients.  The egg yolks, water and vanilla were mixed and set aside. Then the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt were mixed quickly with the beater attachment on the stand mixer, then the butter and cocoa mixture were added and mixed to moisten the dry ingredients.  The egg mixture was added in two additions and then the batter was spooned into the prepared pan and into the oven.  My cake tested done after 30 minutes at 325 degrees in my convection oven. 

While the cake was baking I chopped the bittersweet chocolate and heated the cream.  I skipped the food processor and just did it the old fashioned way.  I poured the hot cream over the chopped chocolate and allowed it to sit for a few minutes.  Then I stirred it until all the chocolate was melted and the mixture was smooth.  I set the ganache aside until the cake was finished.

Once out of the oven I poked holes all over the cake and used a pastry brush to put half the ganache onto the cake.  Then I inverted the cake onto a plate lined with plastic wrap and repeated the procedure.  Then I allowed the ganache to set.  I then inverted it two more times to finally end up with my cake top side up on my final serving plate.  It sounds like alot of fuss but it isn’t and we do it all the time for other cakes without even thinking. 

Finally I carefully placed those $7.00 raspberries all over the tip in circles and applied the red currant glaze and then stood back and admired this thing of beauty while telling myself that I had to wait 24 hours before I could actually serve it and get a taste for myself. 

 I carefully slid the cake into the refrigerator for safe keeping and spent the rest of the day and a good part of that night sneaking peeks into the fridge to make sure it was still there and no one had stolen it.  When I finally got to taste it, I knew it was definitely worth the wait.  I think next time I might make two layers and stack them.  Whoever said more isn’t better?

Next Up:  Personal Choice, Guess you all have to wait and see

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