Black Magic Cake with Raspberry Filling and Chocolate Fudge Frosting

One of my best friends Mackenzie and her family were coming over for a BBQ this weekend, and I served one of her favorite foods- CHOCOLATE. This girl can eat chocolate at every meal, and would brush aside a delicious dinner entrée for chocolate. I’ve been told Hershey’s chocolate cake & frosting recipes are delicious, so I thought I’d try it out this weekend on my chocoholic friend.




The cake was very moist, and imparted a great chocolate flavor. The frosting had a fudge-like texture that piped well. I loved the raspberry filling inside, and am so glad I had it- the raspberry and chocolate combination was fantastic. For Mackenzie’s husband and I who aren’t chocolate cake fans, we had 2 servings. Each. Since the frosting is rich, we paired it with vanilla bean ice cream.


Black Magic Cake
Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup Hershey’s unsweetened cocoa
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs, room temperature
1 cup buttermilk or sour milk*, room temperature
1 cup strong black coffee, or 2 tsp powdered instant coffee plus 1 cup boiling water (I used 1 individual packet of this, which equaled 2 tsp)
½ cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans or one 13x9x2-inch baking pan.
2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt in large bowl. (I used my stand mixer.)
3. Add eggs, buttermilk, coffee, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes (batter will be thin). Pour batter evenly into prepared pans.
4. Bake 30 to 35 minutes for round pans, 35 to 40 minutes for rectangular pan or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. (Mine took 30 minutes.)
5. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.
6. Frost as desired (recipe below).

Yield: 10 to 12 servings.

* To sour milk: Use 1 Tbsp white vinegar plus milk to equal 1 cup.

Source: Hershey’s

Hershey’s “Perfectly Chocolate” Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients:
½ cup (1 stick) butter
2/3 cup Hershey’s cocoa, unsweetened
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Melt butter.
2. Ina stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the melted butter and cocoa, and mix well.
3. Alternately add in the powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add a small amount of additional milk, if needed.
4. Stir in vanilla.

Yield: 2 cups

Source: Hershey’s

Raspberry Filling and Topping
For the filling: I used raspberry preserves, thinned with water. (Use approximately ½ cup of preserves and add a little water for spreading consistency.)
For the topping: I used fresh raspberries for decoration.

To assemble the Cake
1. Ensure both cake rounds are even (no bubble on top) by using your knife or cake leveler.

2. Obtain one of the cooled cake rounds. Top it with the raspberry filling/preserves thinned with a little water.

3. Place the other cooled cake round on top, with the top flipped over so it is in contact with the preserves, and the bottom is now the top.

4. Frost with frosting, and add fresh raspberries on top.