Chocolate Cake Ingredients (Recipe adapted from Hershey's):
Buttercream Frosting Ingredients:
Berry Mousse Ingredients:
Step 1: Bake the cake!
-Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 9-inch baking pans. You may also line the
pans with parchment paper (to help prevent sticking), if desired.
-Place the dry ingredients (sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt) in the bowl of your
mixer. Stir to combine.
-Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes.
-Add the boiling water and mix until incorporated. The batter will be thin.
-Pour the batter into the prepared pans, trying to distribute it equally between the two pans.
-Bake for 33 to 36 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
-Cool for 10 minutes, then remove the cakes onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Step 2: While the cake bakes, prepare the mousse!
-Pour the cold water into a small saucepan. Sprinkle the gelatin on top (do not stir). Let the water/gelatin
stand for a few minutes while you prep your berries.
-Puree the berries in a food processor or blender.
-Strain the puree through a fine-mesh strainer set over a bowl. Stir so that the liquid will drain.
-Stir the lemon juice into the strainer, to reconstitute and get the last remnants. Discard the seeds.
-Whisk the gelatin/water over low heat until the gelatin is completely dissolved. This only takes a
minute, don't let it boil!
-Whisk the sugar into the raspberry puree.
-Whisk in the gelatin mixture. Place the bowl into your refrigerator to chill until it starts to thicken. This
will take about an hour.
Step 3: Assemble the cake!
-Transfer the thickened puree into the bowl of your mixer. Beat on the highest speed for about 3 to 4
minutes until it starts to look foamy.
-With the mixer on a low speed, slowly pour in the cream. Once you have poured all of the cream into the
bowl, beat on the highest speed for 5 minutes.
-To assemble the cake, place one layer of cake onto a cake plate. Spoon the mousse onto the center of
that layer.
-Spread the mousse evenly, but leave approximately 1 inch around the perimeter to allow for oozing.
-Place the second layer of cake onto the mousse. Insert a dowel (or small utensil) into the center to keep
the layers from sliding.
Step 4: The Frosting!
-In the bowl of your mixer, using the wire whip attachment, whip the butter for 5 minutes on the highest
speed.
-Splash in the vanilla and whip until it's combined.
-Add the confectioners sugar. Mix at the lowest speed until the sugar is combined, then whip for 5
minutes at the highest speed.
-Add the cream and whip for 5 more minutes.
(Before you begin to frost the cake, place a small spoonful of the frosting into a small bowl. You will use this to frost over the hole that will be left when you remove the dowel (plastic utensil) from the center of the cake.)
-Put a few large dollops of frosting onto the top of the cake. then spread evenly to cover. Frost the sides
of the cake after you've frosted the top.
-After you've finished frosting, refrigerate for at least an hour so that the mousse will set. The frosting
will also set as it chills.
-Before serving, remove the dowel/utensil and cover the spot in the center with the reserved
spoonful of frosting.
-Cake may be served chilled or allowed to come to room temperature for 1/2 hour.