Raspberry White Chocolate Truffle Tuxedo Cake

Start by making a chocolate cake.

Chocolate Cake

2 cups sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup soured milk
1 cup black coffee
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and beat with electric mixer for 2 minutes.

Pour into 2 greased and floured 9 inch cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely. Split cake into 4 layers.

Raspberry Filling

2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries
½ cup sugar
1 tbsp corn starch dissolved in an ounce or two of cold water

Bring the raspberries and sugar to a very gentle boil for 5 minutes. Keep the stirring to an absolute minimum so as not to break up the raspberries too much. Slowly stir in the dissolved corn starch and cook for an additional minute. Remove from heat and chill thoroughly in the refrigerator before constructing the cake.

White Chocolate Truffle Filling

1 ½ cups white chocolate chips
1 cup whipping cream
Scald ½ cup whipping cream almost to boiling. Pour over white chocolate chips and let stand for 3-4 minutes before stirring until smooth. Cool this mixture almost to room temperature before folding it into ½ cup whipping cream that has been beaten to soft peaks. Chill this mixture thoroughly before constructing the cake.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

3/4 cup butter cut in cubes
3 cups icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 squares unsweetened chocolate melted (or ½ cup cocoa in a pinch)
A few tablespoons of milk

Beat all ingredients together well until light and fluffy using only enough milk to bring the frosting to a thick spreadable consistency.

Chocolate Ganache Glaze

12 oz semisweet or dark chocolate chips
½ cup whipping cream

Scald whipping cream almost to boiling and pour over the chocolate chips. Let stand for 3-4 minutes before stirring well until smooth.

To construct the cake:

Lay the first layer of cake on the serving plate and pipe a border of chocolate buttercream around the top to form a sort of well. Fill the interior with half the raspberry filling and place the next layer on top. Pipe another border of chocolate buttercream on the top edge of the cake and fill that border with the white chocolate truffle filling. Add the next layer and pipe another border of chocolate buttercream which will be filled in with the remaining raspberry filling.

Use the remaining chocolate buttercream to frost a thin layer of icing over the entire cake. Chill for an hour before pouring on the chocolate ganache over the top and quickly spreading it to cover the sides. Garnish with any combination of chocolate curls, white chocolate drizzle and raspberries.