Dark Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Buttercream

For the cake :

Heat oven to 350 F. Butter three 9-inch-round cake pans and line bottoms with parchment paper.

Combine flour, cocoa, granulated sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Add eggs, vanilla, sour cream, oil, vinegar (for leavening and a more tender cake), and 1 cup hot water and mix with a wooden spoon until batter is smooth.

Pour batter evenly into prepared pans and bake until a wooden skewer, inserted into cake center comes out clean. It will take roughly 35 to 40 minutes. When done remove pans from the oven and set them on a cooling rack. Cool cakes in pans 20 minutes. Then invert cakes out of the pans and cool completely on wire racks.

For the buttercream:

In a medium sized bowl beat butter and jam together using an electric mixer set on medium speed until fluffy. Add confectioners’ sugar and beat until smooth.

Set one cake onto your serving platter. Top with some of the filling. Then add the next two layers and repeat, spreading filling between all 3 cake layers.

Ice the top and sides of the cake with remaining buttercream and refrigerate for 20-25 minutes.

For the ganache:

Heat heavy cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until it just begins to boil. Remove from heat and add in chocolate. Allow to sit for 2 minutes. Then whisk together cream and chocolate until nice and smooth. Whisk in in corn syrup and vanilla extract.

Remove cake from refrigerator and pour warm ganache over the middle of the top of the cake and allow it to drip down the sides. Let the ganache set up for about 30 minutes before serving. And if you would like, garnish with fresh raspberries.