Ingredients
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Solid vegetable shortening for greasing the pans Flour for dusting the pans 1 package (10 ounces) frozen raspberries packed with sugar, thawed 1 package (18.25 ounces) devil's-food cake mix with pudding 1 cup sour cream 1/2 cup vegetable oil 3 large eggs Chocolate Ganache: 3/4 cup heavy (whipping) cream 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped 1 tablespoon liqueur of your choice (optional) 1 tablespoon Chambord (raspberry liqueur; optional) 1/2 cup fresh raspberries, for garnish (optional)
Procedure
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Place a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350 degrees.
Generously grease three 9-inch round cake pans with solid vegetable
shortening, then dust with flour. Shake out the excess flour. Set the pans
aside.
Strain the raspberries through a fine-mesh sieve if you don't want the
seeds in your cake. (I like the bit of crunch they add.) Place the cake
mix, raspberries and their juice, sour cream, oil, and eggs in a large
mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop
the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping down
the sides again if needed. The batter should look well blended.
Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans, smoothing it out with
the rubber spatula. Place the pans in the oven side by side, or if your
oven is not large enough, place two pans on the center rack and the third
pan in the center of the highest rack.
Bake until they spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 25 to
28 minutes. Check the pan on the highest rack first, as it will bake the
quickest. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to
cool for 10 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edge of each layer and
invert each onto a rack, then invert again onto another rack so that the
cakes are right side up. Allow to cool completely, 30 minutes more.
Meanwhile, prepare the Chocolate Ganache. Place the cream in a small heavy
Meanwhile, prepare the Chocolate Ganache. Place the cream in a small heavy
saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring. Meanwhile, place
the chopped chocolate in a large stainless-steel mixing bowl. Remove the
cream from the heat, and pour it over the chocolate. Stir with a wooden
spoon until the chocolate is melted. Stir in the liqueur if desired.
To use the ganache as a frosting, let it stand for 30 minutes at room
temperature, or chill it for 10 minutes, until it has thickened enough to
spread with a metal spatula.
Place one cake layer, right side up, on a serving platter. Spread the top
with ganache frosting. Place the second layer, right side up, on top of
the first layer. Spread the top with ganache. Place the third layer, right
side up, on top of the second layer and frost the top and sides of the
cake. Work with clean, smooth strokes. Decorate the top attractively with
the fresh raspberries, if desired.
Place this cake, uncovered or in a cake saver, in the refrigerator until
the frosting sets, 20 minutes. Then cover the cake with waxed paper, or
place it in a cake saver or under a glass dome, and store in the
refrigerator for up to 1 week. Or freeze it in a cake saver for up to 6
months. Thaw the cake overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
