Chocolate Cake with Raspberries

Ingredients

Cake

1 3/4 cups self-rising flour** 
2 cups sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup oil
1 cup regular yogurt
1 cup boiling water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large eggs

** I like to use self-rising flour for my cakes, but it can be substituted with the regular flour:

1 3/4 All-Purpose Flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Filling
2 tbspn.butter, softened
8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature - very important
1 cup powdered sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted
1 cup heavy cream
2 pints fresh raspberries, washed and dried

Frosting
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 1/8 cups (375 g) powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

It is best to prepare the cake a day in advance.

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325°F.
Lightly grease two 8" or 9" round springforms. Line the forms with parchment.

Make the cake:

Whisk together the flour and a cacao or better sift it together.
Combine the oil, yogurt, boiling water and vanilla in a medium bowl and add to the dry mixture. Beat at medium speed for about a minute, until the batter is smooth. Scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl, then beat in the eggs one at a time. Mix on medium speed for another minute, or until smooth. Divide the batter among the prepared spring forms. Bake for 25-30 minutes for two 8" or 9” pans. Take out to cool completely before cutting.
 
Make the filling:

In a large mixing bowl, combine the butter, cream cheese (very important that it will be soft), 3/4 cup of the powdered sugar, vanilla, mixing at medium-low speed until smooth.

Melt the chocolate about a minute in the microwave to soften the chocolate chips and stir them until completely melted and smooth. Add the melted chocolate to the bowl
and mix on medium-high speed for a minute.

Beat the heavy cream until soft peaks form, then add the remaining 1/4 cup powdered sugar. Beat just until the cream is stiff.Split the cake layers horizontally if you've baked two cakes. Place the first layer on a serving plate and spread it with one-third of the filling. Cut 1/2 pint of raspberries in half lengthwise and place them over the filling, covering it entirely. Repeat until all the layers are stacked.
 
Once the layers are assembled with filling and raspberries, place the cake in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to firm it up. This will make frosting the cake much easier since the layers are less likely to slide around and chilling helps prevent the cake from shedding crumbs as you frost. While the cake is chilling, make the frosting.

Make the frosting:

In a large bowl, beat the butter.

Sift the powdered sugar and cocoa through a strainer to remove any lumps and gently beat into the butter mixture alternately with the milk.

Add the vanilla. Beat on medium-high speed for 2 minutes, or until fluffy.

For better results do the frosting in two steps. First, spread a very thin layer of frosting around the sides and across the top. Refrigerate the cake for 20 minutes to let this layer set up.

Once the cake is chilled, use the remaining frosting to coat it thoroughly and evenly. The cake should be completely covered.
Refrigerate the cake until ready to serve. You can garnish it with fresh raspberries just before serving.

Enjoy!