Chocolate Mascarpone & Raspberries Cake 

Summer is almost gone and I can hear the whispering of the foliage. My favorite season is coming! Autumn has a melancholic beauty. As the leaves change colors and keep falling is impossible not to evaluate our lives. It illustrates us how ephemeral life is. That modest truth that is hard to accept. But the reality is that if we recognize and absorb that, we will be able to be grateful for each instant. And yes, sometimes life laughs at you and spit in the face. Life isn't easy... It's like baking a cake. We need to gather the best and the right ingredients, follow a plan and put effort on it in order to have accomplishment. 

I grew up with a passion for making cakes. Going back to my childhood, where I loved watching my mom baking (I suppose that through my little infant eyes I saw some kind of magic) to my teen days of ruling the kitchen while baking and reiventing cakes and pastries. But I’ll be honest with you; since I moved to Lisbon, in 2014 Christmas, I rarely bake. Merely five times during that time. Things will change from now on since I’m determined to break this hiatus and share not only healthy breakfasts (in the near future) but also delicious desserts.

Whilst summer is still here and the autumn is approaching nothing like a perfect union of the freshness & bittersweetness of raspberries with the richness & intensity of chocolate in a wonderful layered cake. An adaptation from here. My favorite baker and cake artist, Linda Lomelino. 

Ingredients

For cake

• 1 cup flour

• 1 ½ cup brown sugar

• 4 tbsp soften butter

• ½ cup milk

• 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 4 tbsp cocoa powder

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 75g dark chocolate with 70% cocoa

For frosting

• 250g mascarpone cheese

• 200ml heavy cream

• ½ cup brown sugar

• 400g fresh raspberries

• 3 tbsp cocoa powder

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 175°C. Butter the cake pan and dust it with cocoa powder and knock out the excess. Set aside.

2. Melt the chocolate in water bath. Set aside and let it cool.

3. Mix flour, cocoa powder and baking powder. Set aside.

4. Whisk together butter and brown sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffly. And one egg and beat until incorporated. Repeat with the egg yolk. Add the melted chocolate and the vanilla. Beat until smooth. Add the flour and the milk alternately.

5. Put the batter in the baking pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let it cool completely. Cut in layers.

6. Mix mascarpone cheese with heavy cream and brown sugar until the mixture begins to thicken (white frosting). Set aside ¼ and mix with the cocoa powder (brown frosting).

7. Assemble: Place the first layer on a serving plate. Add half of the white frosting to the center of the cake and with a spatula, gently spread the frosting over the cake layer until it reaches the edges. Distribute some raspberries over. Place another cake layer and put the brown frosting and the raspberries like before. Put the last layer and repeat with the remaining white frosting.

Enjoy! x