Raspberry Chocolate Torte
So this cake, well torte, is the last of twelve contest winning cake recipes submitted to Taste of Home that I baked purely as a way to eat more cake. Who can blame me? But to be more honest, I like to bake cakes and try new recipes which is why I began this blog in the first place. Alas, this is the last- as well as the "Late" - cake because I haven't been as diligent with baking and blogging as I had hoped.
The season for raspberries is nearing the end, or may even be kaput by now. It is September 23rd, and I do live in Germany. I knew this final recipe required raspberries and I saw them in the store and thought I have to do this now, or else I won't have fresh berries, and it would be tragic if I had to use frozen ones. My husband has also been encouraging me to write more and to find something that I enjoy blogging about doing. So, of course, I was reminded of this blog that in my opinion was not complete. I didn't want to move on to something new without finishing this first. So here it goes ...
The Raspberry Chocolate Torte Recipe:
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 Eggs (Eggland's Best is recommended in Taste of Home)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup baking cocoa
Glaze:
1/4 cup boiling water
4 teaspoons raspberry gelatin
2 tablespoons seedless raspberry jam
Topping:
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
2 cartons (8 ounces each) thawed whipped topping
2 cups fresh raspberries
Directions:
1. Line a greased 15 x 10 x 1-inch pan with waxed paper; grease the paper. In large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. In separate bowl, combine flour and cocoa; gradually beat into the creamed mixture. Pour into the prepared pan. Note- The mixture may be quite thick and may require you to spread it evenly across the pan.
2. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until an inserted toothpick near the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely. Remove the wax paper.
3. For glaze, stir water and gelatin until dissolved. Stir in jam. Brush evenly over bottom of cake. Trim edges of cake; cut cake widthwise ino thirds. Note- I thought I needed more glaze to coat the cake well. The torte was a little dry and I think more glaze would have helped provide more moisture and more raspberry flavor.
4. For topping, (our favorite part of the cake) in a microwave, melt chips; stur until smooth. Note- I melted the chocolate chips in 30 second intervals stirring between. The recipe calls for two cups of chocolate chips, which is a large quantity to melt at one time. I found that warming them in the microwave a little at a time and stirring in between prevented burning and difficulty stirring all that chocolate. Now, fold half of the whipped topping into the chocolate until blended; fold in the remaining whipped topping. This is a lot of frosting or topping, so (note) I would transfer the melted chocolate into a large bowl before adding the whipped topping, or just use a large bowl if it will fit in your microwave.
5. OK, the last step before indulging. Place one cake layer on a serving platter and cover with topping. Repeat layers of cake and topping. Frost and decorate the top cake layer with remaining topping and fresh raspberries. Yield: 12 servings
Chris and Kelsey's Thougts:
My husband, Chris and my niece, Kelsey both agreed that the Raspberry Chocolate Torte was very good. Their favorite part was the topping; it's so simple to make. And I think it would be easy to use as a quick, light and airy, go to frosting for any cake, cup cake, or torte. This recipe reminded me of German desserts because it wasn't as sweet as most American cake recipes tend to be. The torte itself was also a little on the dry side. I've found dry cakes to be pretty consistent in my dessert eating here in Germany. However, the use of fresh raspberries and the fluffy topping brings the torte to life. Again, the next time I make it, I think I'll make more of the glaze. I also think that if I glaze each layer of the cake, and let the cake sit in the fridge for at least an hour, then it won't be as dry and the raspberry flavor will be more noticeable.
Well, because I didn't taste all of the 12 cakes, several went to friends, I can't tell you which ones were the best. But out of the ones I did taste, these are my top three: Chocolate Truffle Cake, Lemon-Rosemary Layer Cake and the White Chocolate Raspberry Torte. The Chocolate Truffle Cake has to be one of the best chocolate cakes I've ever had. And the Lemon-Rosemary Layer Cake was the most surprising, because I'm not much of a lemon fan, but this cake was superb. I included the White Chocolate Raspberry Torte because it was a moist and refreshing cake on a hot day. Refreshment is not something I usually expect out of a cake, so I was pleased.
Thanks for reading and I do hope that you'll give these recipes a try.
Happy Baking to You!
: D
