WINTER CELEBRATION CAKE

Winter Celebration Cake

For a special celebration, this Winter Celebration Cake starts with an amazingly rich, tender and moist Chocolate Raspberry Cake, layered with luscious Raspberry Jam Filling, silky Chocolate Mascarpone and covered with Dark Chocolate Ganache.  Rich dark chocolate cake and fresh raspberries are even more indulgent when topped with wintery Chocolate Pinecones and Sugared Cranberries and Sugared Rosemary.  The fragrance from the Sugared Rosemary gives this an outdoor fresh smell and seasonal flavor as well!  A truly special cake!

Winter Celebration Cake

My daughter and I spent a relaxing afternoon creating the Chocolate Almond Pinecones - almost arts & crafts for grown-ups!  We took our time, enjoying a snowy afternoon and a glass of wine.

The Chocolate Almond Pinecones can be made any size that you like, and easily made ahead of time.  And they taste as wonderful as they look!  A fudgy center, almond slices, dusted with dark cocoa powder and a final dusting of powdered sugar gives these a wintery look.  

Chocolate Cake with Fresh Raspberry Filling, Chocolate Mascarpone, Dark Chocolate Ganache and decorated with Chocolate Almond Pinecones, Sugared Cranberries and Sugared Rosemary

Although there are a lot of steps in this recipe, you can easily create the garnishes and Raspberry Jam Filling days ahead of time.

The batter for the Chocolate Cake is luscious and comes together fast.  Buttermilk and vegetable oil guarantee a moist cake with nice crumb.  For cake layer conformity, I usually weigh my cake pans and batter on a digital scale before baking to keep them as much the same as I can.  Baking is easier and foolproof as well when you follow this method.  

Four layers of luscious chocolate cake, glorious with Fresh Raspberry Filling and a dreamy Chocolate Mascarpone Filling.  Silky Chocolate Ganache is a dream to work with, and a delicious secret ingredient in the Chocolate Mascarpone Filling.

Garnish right before serving.  This wonderful Winter Celebration Cake also makes a wonderful centerpiece for special celebrations - truly a masterpiece!

Winter Celebration Cake

WINTER CELEBRATION CAKE

This Winter Celebration Cake starts with an amazingly rich, tender and moist Chocolate Raspberry Cake, layered with luscious Raspberry Jam Filling, silky Chocolate Mascarpone and Dark Chocolate Ganache.  Rich dark chocolate cake and fresh raspberries are even more indulgent when topped with wintery Chocolate Pinecones and Sugared Cranberries and Rosemary. A truly special cake!
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Winter Celebration Cake

INGREDIENTS:
Chocolate Cake
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup dark unsweetened baking cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk (room temperature)
½ cup vegetable oil
2 eggs (room temperature)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
¾ cup boiling water
 
Fresh Raspberry Filling (or substitute 12 oz. seedless raspberry jam)
12 oz. fresh or frozen raspberries (thawed)
1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/3 cup granulated sugar
 
Chocolate Ganache
12 oz. bittersweet chocolate (high quality - I recommend Ghirardelli)
1 2/3 cups heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon corn syrup
 
Chocolate Mascarpone Filling
6 oz. (3/4 cup) mascarpone
1 ¼ cups heavy cream
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar)
¾ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ cup chocolate ganache
 
Garnish
Chocolate & Almond Pinecones
Sugared Cranberries & Sugared Rosemary
Fresh Raspberries
 
HOW I MAKE THIS:

1. PREPARE CHOCOLATE CAKE:  Remove eggs and buttermilk from refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line the bottom of two 8-inch or 9-inch cake pans (each pan at least 2 1/2” deep) with parchment paper.  Spray pans with nonstick baking spray (WITH flour) or butter and flour pans.
3. Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda in a medium bowl. Whisk in sugar and salt; set aside.
4. In a large bowl, whisk buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla together until combined. Whisk half of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until combined. Add remaining dry ingredients and whisk just until combined.  Whisk in boiling water just until combined, do not overmix (the batter will be thin).
5. Evenly divide the batter between the cake pans (I usually weigh each pan & batter on my digital kitchen scale to make sure that they are about the same).  Tap each cake pan gently a few times on the counter to get rid of air bubbles.
6. For 8” pans, bake at 350 degrees F 32-38 minutes; for 9” pans bake for 22-28 minutes OR until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out with just a few moist crumbs (don’t open oven while baking or cakes could fall in center.)
7. Cool cakes in pans for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting. Once cool, level cakes if needed.
8. PREPARE RASPBERRY FILLING (or substitute 12 oz. seedless raspberry jam):  Add raspberries (and any juices from thawing) to food processor and puree. Add puree to a fine mesh sieve over a bowl to discard seeds. Press down on the puree with the back of a spoon or spatula, until only seeds remain. This will take several minutes. Wipe the back of the sieve to get all of the puree. You should end up with about 1-¼ cups of puree.
9. Add raspberry puree, cornstarch, sugar and lemon juice to a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring constantly then reduce heat to medium and continue to cook and stir continuously until puree is thickened. Note that it will thicken a little bit as it cools.  Refrigerate until completely chilled.
10. PREPARE CHOCOLATE GANACHE AFTER CAKES ARE COMPLETELY COOLED: (You will use part of it to prepare the Chocolate Mascarpone to frost the cooled cakes.)
11. Placed chopped dark chocolate in a small deep bowl.  Heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan over medium heat just until small bubbles surround the outside edge and the cream is hot.  Remove from heat and immediately pour over the chopped chocolate. Let stand 3 minutes, then whisk vigorously until Ganache is melted and smooth. Whisk in 1 tablespoon corn syrup.
12. Remove a heaping 1/2 cup Ganache to use in Chocolate Mascarpone. Let remaining Ganache stand at room temperature to cool until barely lukewarm, about 20 minutes OR until slightly thickened but still spreadable.
13. PREPARE CHOCOLATE MASCARPONE.  Immediately after making Ganache, make Chocolate Mascarpone (so you can start assembling your cake before the Ganache cools completely).
14. Using a handheld mixer, beat the mascarpone, cream, sugar and vanilla on low speed until no lumps remain. Add reserved 1/2 cup Ganache and increase speed to medium high and beat until thick, and stiff peaks form – it should look like thick whipped cream. You don’t want to overbeat or the mixture will break (separate) and curdle, but you want it quite stiff.
15. ASSEMBLE CAKE:  Cut cooled cakes in half horizontally using a long serrated bread knife to create 4 even layers. If the tops of your cakes have big domes, you will want to level those off as well.   Place 1 layer, cut side up, on a serving plate or cake pedestal then evenly top with one third of the Raspberry Filling (about 1/3 cup). Top Raspberry Filling with one third of the Chocolate Mascarpone (about 1 cup). Top with 2nd cake layer, cut side down, and repeat Raspberry Filling and Chocolate Mascarpone layers. Top with 3rd cake layer and repeat Raspberry Filling and Chocolate Mascarpone layers. Carefully place final cake layer on top.
16. Separate out 1 cup lukewarm Ganache and frost top and sides of cake in a thin crumb layer. Freeze cake for 30 minutes to set Ganache. After 30 minutes, frost cake with desired amount of remaining Ganache. If Ganache is beginning to harden then add 1 teaspoon vegetable oil and microwave for 10 seconds then whisk. If it is too runny, then whip it with a hand held mixer to stiffen.
17. DECORATE CAKE:  Arrange Chocolate Almond Pinecones, Sugared Cranberries & Sugared Rosemary OR fresh raspberries on top of cake and dust lightly with powdered sugar.  
18. TO STORE CAKE:  Assembled and frosted cake should be covered and refrigerated. Bring cake to room temperature before serving (about 30 minutes on the counter).

 
YIELD:  12 servings
 
RECIPE NOTES: 
 
CHOCOLATE CAKE NOTES

• For a regular chocolate cake, substitute regular unsweetened baking cocoa for the dark baking cocoa. 
• You must use room temperature eggs and buttermilk or your cake will not set up properly.  To quickly bring eggs to room temperature, fill a bowl with warm water (not hot) and add eggs and let sit 10-20 minutes.
• Don’t overmix your cake batter!  Overmixing will result in a dense, tough, dry cake.
• The cake layers should both be baked on the middle rack of your oven.
• Don’t overbake your cakes or they won’t be as moist. 

 
RASPBERRY FILLING NOTES

• Homemade Raspberry Filling is strictly optional.  You can substitute a good quality seedless raspberry jam.
• If making homemade Raspberry Filling, use frozen raspberries for best results because frozen raspberries are picked at peak ripeness and usually have more sweetness and flavor than fresh - which can be beautiful but flavorless.
• If you do use fresh raspberries, you will need 2 6 oz. containers.

 
CHOCOLATE GANACHE NOTES

• Do NOT start making your Chocolate Ganache until your cakes are cooled because you will use it within 20 minutes of preparation.
• If your Chocolate Ganache does cool and start to harden for whatever reason – don’t worry!  Simply add 1 teaspoon vegetable oil and microwave on low for 10 seconds then whisk and microwave another 10 seconds if required.

 
CHOCOLATE MASCARPONE NOTES

• Mascarpone can be found with the specialty cheeses in your grocery store.
• Immediately after making your ganache, prepare chocolate mascarpone so you can start to assembling your cake before your ganache cools completely.

 
ASSEMBLY NOTES

• Make sure cakes are completely cool before leveling and frosting.  To cut Chocolate Cakes horizontally in half, I use a Wilton Cake Leveler.  If you don’t have one of these available, you can place each cake on a cutting board so they are flat and sturdy, and eyeing both sides of the cake, use a serrated bread knife to score the cake horizontally and evenly around the cake.  Use the score line as your guide and work your way gently through on each cake. 
• PRO NOTE:  I like to place four strips of parchment paper around the edges of cake stand/cake platter before frosting to create a square frame, then place the first layer of my cake in the center of the square.  This keeps the excess frosting on the parchment paper, which you easily slide out and remove once you’re done frosting your cake.

 
GARNISH NOTES

• Garnish with Chocolate Almond Pinecones, Sugared Cranberries and Sugared Rosemary.  You can also decorate with fresh raspberries! 

Originally posted January 2020.
 
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