Chocolate Berry Cake

I can't believe that so many of my daughter's friends are turning 16 already (she too will be 16 later this year) and since this year birthday celebrations have been rather low key, she wanted to make a cake for her best friend. Her usual go-to flavors are chocolate and raspberry and that is a favorite for her best friend too so we decided on the cake and this recipe turned out very moist and delicious. 

I used a mix of berries (strawberry, blueberry, raspberry and blackberries) but you can use any one that you prefer. 

It may seem like a lot of steps but it's a no-fuss recipe that results in a very tasty cake

Chocolate Berry Cake

Ingredients:

For the Cake

Sugar - 1.5 cups (you can go upto 2 cups if you like a sweeter cake)

Flour - 1.25 cups 

Almond flour - 0.5 cup (you can replace this with All purpose flour)

Cocoa powder - 3/4 cup

Baking Soda - 1.5 tsp 

Baking Powder - 1.5 tsp 

Salt - 3/4 tsp 

Eggs - 2 

Buttermilk - 1 cup 

Oil - 1/2 cup

Vanilla extract - 2 tsp

Instant coffee granules - 1 tsp (optional, but helps deepen the chocolate flavor) 

Boiling water - 1 cup

For the Berry Filling (can be replaced with your favorite berry jam)

Frozen mixed berries - 2 cups (I used frozen) 

Sugar - 1/4 cup

Cornstarch - 4 tsp 

Water - 1 tbsp

Lemon juice - 1 tbsp

Chocolate Frosting

Butter - 4 tbsp, melted

Cocoa powder - 6 tbsp

Powdered Sugar - 1 cup

Milk - 2 tbsp

Vanilla extract - 1 tsp 

Semisweet chocolate chips - 2 tbsp (optional) 

Method: 

1) For the cake, preheat oven to 350F. Grease lightly and line with parchment paper two 8 or 9 inch round baking pans or a 9x13 pan (for square cake) 

2) In a large bowl, stir the dry ingredients together for the cake - sugar, flours, baking power, baking soda, coffee, salt and cocoa powder. 

3) Add eggs, vanilla, oil, buttermilk and beat for 2 minutes. Add boiling water and stir - this will make the batter very thin but don't be alarmed. Pour the batter into the prepared pans. 

4) Bake for 30-35 mins or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool completely. You can wrap and freeze these which helps with the frosting later. 

5) For the berry filling: Combine sugar, water, lemon juice and cornstarch in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the berries and cook until they are cooked and the sauce has thickened. Allow this to cool completely.  (You can skip this step and use a berry jam if you prefer)

6) For the Frosting: Melt butter with chocolate chips (30 secs increments in microwave) and stir well. Add cocoa powder, sugar, milk and vanilla extract and beat until smooth. You can adjust consistency by varying the powdered sugar and milk quantities. This will also thicken more upon cooling. 

Assembly:

 

Cut the cake into layers as desired... i made 4 layers with the 2 square cakes i got from the 9x13 pan. 

Place once cake on plate and spread the filling evenly, add the cake and repeat. For the final layer frost with the chocolate frosting and decorate as desired. Keep refrigerated to store.