chocolate cake with raspberries

Today is my husband’s birthday. Rather than go out to eat, he requested dinner at home, specifically barbecue bake followed by a chocolate raspberry cake for dessert. The first time I made this cake for him was back when we were newly married. It was a huge hit back then (my friends were always excited when his birthday came around, because they would come over to help us eat the leftovers) and is still one of our favorites all these years later.

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The recipe I used today was my most recent favorite chocolate cake recipe, and I made it in two 9-inch round pans. Once they were baked and cooled, on one I poked holes into the cake using a fork, then placed a layer of frozen raspberries on top of it (the holes are so that the juice from the raspberries can seep into the cake and give it wonderful raspberry flavor). After the cake and the berries sat for a little while, allowing the berries to get to room temperature, I covered the raspberries with a nice thick layer of rich chocolate fudge frosting and placed a few fresh raspberries on top. On the second cake I put only the frosting — no raspberries or fruit of any kind — since my youngest child is a chocolate purist.

In my husband’s opinion, nothing says “I love you” and “Happy birthday” like a home cooked meal and a rich chocolate dessert. Today he is a year older, and a very happy man.