You know you want some.
Trust me, it was BETTER than it looks.
Our friends Leila and Ronald left Wednesday, and Alicia's birthday was Thursday, but I was in need of a day of R&R after being up all night Monday, then out late Tuesday. So I made the cake a day late and determined we'd make do eating cake @ the office a day late.
After much deliberation the description I received from Alicia of her preference was chocolate cake with lemon and raspberry; she left the details up to me.
I went for the same dense chocolate cake I made for Tom, hoping to make it shine a little more without all that moussey-ganacheness overpowering it. The first one sunk (I think the bottom of the springform is too thick. It's heavy and perhaps next time I 'll let it cook longer) a little in the middle, so splitting it horizontally to make 2 layers was out. SOOO, while the Black Raspberry Muffin
Oddly, the first thing I did was make a lemon glaze which contained
Approximately
1 lemon's juice
3/4 tsp lemon zest
enough water to cover the bottom of the pan
approx 1/2 cup sugar
This acted as a crumb coating, and also slipped in that lemon Alicia was after--- in retrospect I would add more than the conservative amount I did, as, in the grand scheme of things, the lemon played such a minor part you scarcely noticed its existence.
Black Raspberry Buttercream Frosting
150g butter, softened
2-3 cups icing sugar
1 cup frozen black raspberries, thawed and mashed
1/4 cup milk
Optional-- Raspberry Liquor (i.e. Chambord)
1. Cream the butter. Add the icing sugar and raspberries and beat well. Add liquor if desired. For less seeds, strain part or all of the raspberries before adding them. If you find you need more liquid in the frosting, add milk gradually until it reaches the consistency you're after.
Assembly
Cut cakes horizontally so they're even, lay one on your serving dish or cake round, pour part of lemon syrup on and spread around until it soaks in. Slather frosting, especially on the edges so it sticks out. Add top part of cake and pile the frosting on, cake decorator style. When you have it close to what you're going for, dip a knife in water and carefully smooth the top and sides, repeatedly dipping until the entire cake is complete.