Chocolate Devil’s Food Cake with Raspberry Meringue Buttercream

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans, and line the bottoms with parchment paper.

For the cake:
In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In another bowl, whisk the boiling water, chocolate and cocoa powder until smooth.

Beat butter and sugar together on medium speed in a bowl of a standing mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Beat in sour cream and vanilla extract.

Reduce the speed to low and beat in 1/3 of the flour mixture, followed by half of the chocolate mixture. Repeat with another 1/3 of the flour mixture and the remaining chocolate mixture. Beat in the remaining flour mixture until just incorporated.

Divide the batter and pour into the prepared pans, smoothing the surface with a spatula. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Place the cakes (in the pans) on a wire rack to cool. Then once cooled, invert the cakes onto a greased rack. Cool completely before frosting.

To prepare the buttercream, put egg whites and sugar in a mixing bowl over a pot of simmering water. Use an electric hand mixer to beat constantly until the sugar has completely dissolved and the egg whites are hot. Remove from heat.

With whisk attachment, continue whipping the mixture in a standing mixer until thick, glossy, and cool.

Switch over to paddle attachment. While mixing on medium speed, continuously add softened butter in chunks until incorporated, and mix until it has reached a silky smooth texture. If it appears to curdle, keep mixing and it will come back to smooth. Add vanilla and salt, mix well.

Right before frosting the cake, add the food coloring and raspberries into the buttercream and beat for another 10 seconds, or until the color are evenly distributed.

To assemble the cake, place one cake layer on your serving plate and spread the top with 1/3 of the buttercream. Place the other cake layer on top, and gently press down a little bit. Spread with another 1/3 of the buttercream. Smear the remaining 1/3 of the buttercream on the sides of the cake, and garnish with the remaining raspberries.

Cover and refrigerate the cake. Leave out in room temperature for at least an hour prior to serving.