PW's Big Chocolate Birthday Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

My husbands birthday was this past Friday and this was his cake.  Four layers of deliciousness. He loves raspberry so the layers were slathered in raspberry jam and then the entire thing was frosted with chocolate buttercream.  It was yummy. 

He first saw this recipe while I was watching a DVR'd episode of The Pioneer Woman and told me this was the cake for him.  Of course he had my add some raspberry layers which I was happy to do for the birthday boy. 

I love this cake recipe, usually it's a sheet cake recipe but I've made it as cupcakes too.  It's divine, I love the texture and flavor.  I have posted this recipe on a smaller scale before, but it was nice and handy to have the appropriate measurements for this 4-layer version.  

If you're doing the raspberry jam layers, don't go too heavy on the jam.  If you do, the layers will start to slide off to the side. Not a good look.

Big Chocolate Raspberry Cake
modified slightly from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

• 4 sticks butter, softened + more for the pans
• 8 heaping Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder +  more for the pans
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups boiling water
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 whole eggs
• **Raspberry Jam (see below)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350º, grease 4 - 9" round cake pans, then coat with cocoa powder
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt.  Set aside. 
3. In a large saucepan, melt the butter and then add the cocoa powder and mix until smooth. Add the boiling water and allow to boil for 30 seconds. Remove from the heat. 
4. Add the chocolate mixture into the flour mixture and stir will.  let cool slightly. 
5. In a separate bowl combine the buttermilk, baking soda, vanilla extract and the eggs that been beaten. 
6. Slowly add to the chocolate mixture and stir until smooth. 
7. Put and equal amount of batter into the four prepared pans. 
8. Bake for 20 minutes. 
9. Let cool completely before frosting, cool the layers in the refrigerator for best results before frosting. 

**If you're going to add the raspberry layers - I used a jar of my favorite raspberry preserves and put them in each layer - no frosting, just preserves.  Go easy on the preserves otherwise the layers will side off each other. 

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Recipe from Savory Sweet Life

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract or 1 tsp almond extract
• 4 Tbsp milk or heavy cream

Directions

1. In your stand mixer, beat the butter until light and fluffy - 2-3 minutes. 
2. Add the confectioners sugar, use low speed until the mix has come together (to prevent your kitchen from being covered in a cloud of sugar). 
3. Add the remaining ingredients and beat until smooth. 
4. If you need a thicker frosting, add a little more sugar one Tbsp at a time.  If it needs to be thinned, add a little more milk. 

Raspberry Pie

It's been raining so much here that I have actual moss growing in my backyard.  The weather has been so strange.  I'm not complaining though because this time last year I was confined to my house because of the soaring temperatures.

Needless to say we haven't done very many fun things.  We can't even get to our neighborhood pool without having to turn around and go home because of a stray thunderstorm.

I was in Wal-Mart the other day and saw school stuff out!  I'm NOT ready for this.  My little one will be in kindergarten and I'm not prepared to start thinking about that yet.

I will bake pie instead.  Makes perfect sense doesn't it?

I made this pie for my neighbor because she said it's her favorite.  Who am I to deny someone their favorite pie? That's why the picture above is not so great.  I apologize.
If you're a raspberry lover you will enjoy this pie immensely. Full of fruit flavor, not overly sweet. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream and you'll be in heaven.

Raspberry Pie

Recipe from AllRecipes

Ingredients

• 1 recipe double pie crust
• 4 cups raspberries
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 Tbsp quick tapioca
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 4 tsp butter
• egg wash or cream

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425º
2. In a large bowl, combine the raspberries, sugar, tapioca, lemon juice, cinnamon and salt and carefully mix together so you don't crush the berries. 
3. Line a deep dish pie dish with one crust and then fill with the berries. 
4. Dot the top with the butter and then add the top crust. 
5. Make slits in the crust for steam to escape and brush with egg wash or cream. 
6. Bake for 15 minutes and then reduce the heat to 375º for 25 more minutes.  Check the crust as it bakes and if it begins to look like it's getting too dark, cover it with tin foil. 
7. Let cool before serving. 

Some 4th of July Favorites

This Crepe Cake is a show stopper.  If you're looking for a dessert that will make people's eye's grow wide and mouth start to water, this is it.

Sour Cream Blueberry Pie has 4th of July written all over it!

PW's Barbecue Sauce will make any barbecue better.

Nellie & Joe's Tropical Ice is so cool and refreshing that it'll cool you down from the 4th of July sizzle.

Fudge Pop's are a family favorite, just try to find a kid who doesn't like them!

Blueberry Raspberry Cobbler has all the 4th of July colors! Doesn't hurt that it's delicious too.

How about a yummy Peach Margarita to cool you off?

Peach Cobbler is one of my favorites!  This recipe will rock your world.

I hope you all have a safe and happy 4th of July!

Fruit and Yogurt Pops

I just saw this idea in a magazine and it looked super fun and easy to do with my little girl.  She loved it and it's healthy to boot!

Use fresh or frozen fruit, makes no difference. 

Put the fruit in a small saucepan and add honey. Bring to a boil and then let simmer until the fruit has broken down and there is a nice syrup.

You can blend some yogurt and banana together - I did this but would opt to not do this next time.  The banana is just too overpowering for my taste - and my daughter doesn't really care for banana that much.

Strain the fruit/honey mixture through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds and pulp.  Put this into the refrigerator for about 30 minutes or so.

Now for the fun part.  Use some plastic Popsicle shapes, or ice cube trays to pour in the fruit and yogurt mixture.  You can either do layers or swirl them together.  When I did this it sort of swirled together without any help from me.

I poured fruit first, then yogurt

then topped it with the remaining fruit.

If you're using the plastic Popsicle kind of try just put the tops on.  If you're using an ice cube tray, cover it with plastic wrap and insert wooden Popsicle sticks and put them in the freezer.

Pour some warm water over the cube or tube that you are going to eat to help loosen it up.  Now enjoy.

1 C fruit - I used raspberry but you could use any fruit.
1/4 C. honey
1/2 C. vanilla yogurt
1/2 banana - optional.

Bring the fruit and honey to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium high heat.  Reduce to simmer for 5 minutes. Strain fruit and honey with a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds and pulp.  Cover and put in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
If you are going to use the banana, blend it with the yogurt just until blended and smooth. 
When the fruit mixture is cool, pour some in each Popsicle holder or ice cube tray and then top with the yogurt, stir to swirl if desired.  Freeze overnight.

Recipe adapted from Southern Living Magazine 2008 - Cool Pops

Blueberry Raspberry Cobbler

Just in time for the 4th of July! This has the red and blue part covered, topped with some whipped cream or ice cream and you've got the white part covered.  I modified this recipe from a peach cobbler post I did last year. I just love the crumb topping!

First wash all the fruit, picking through it carefully to remove any leaves or stem, then mix it together in a large bowl. To this, add the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice and cornstarch.

Let the fruit sit for a few minutes and start working on the topping.  Add the flour, both sugars, baking powder, salt, and butter in a bowl and mix with a fork or a pastry cutter to get the butter combined well.  Next add the hot water and mix until just combined.

In a 9x9 inch dish pour the fruit, top with the dough mixture.  Try to spread the dough out as much as possible but it doesn't have to cover the entire surface.  Now sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the top of the dough mixture.

Let this sit for a little while after you remove from the oven.

Here's what you'll need:

4 C. Raspberries
2 C. Blueberries
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp cornstarch

Topping:
1 C. all-purpose flour
1/4 C. white sugar
1/4 C. brown sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
6 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 C boiling water

Sugar:
3 Tbsp white sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine raspberries and blueberries with 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, and cornstarch. Toss to coat evenly, and pour into a 9x9 inch baking dish. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.

While the fruit bakes; in a large bowl, combine flour, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Blend in butter with your fingertips, or a pastry cutter, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in water until just combined.

Remove the berries from the oven, and drop spoonfuls of topping over them. Sprinkle entire cobbler with the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Bake until topping is golden, about 30 minutes.