On a very hot day, I made this chocolate cake, with raspberry filling, and raspberry Swiss meringue buttercream. The buttercream was too warm when I needed to decorate the cake and so I did it really quickly and it has lots of flaws. BUT, it tasted great!
I’ve made the cake once before. Ina Garten calls it “Beatty’s Chocolate Cake” (https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/beattys-chocolate-cake-recipe-1947521), but it is originally from Hershey’s, which calls it “Black Magic Cake” (https://www.hersheys.com/kitchens/en_us/recipes/black-magic-cake.html). I relied on “My Baking Addiction” for determining these metric measurements (https://www.mybakingaddiction.com/the-best-chocolate-cake):
Butter and flour, for greasing the pans
1 3/4 cups (210 g) all-purpose flour
2 cups (400 g) sugar
3/4 cups (64 g) cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk
1/2 cup (120 ml) vegetable oil
2 extra-large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup (240 ml) freshly brewed hot coffee
Most people use 9-inch round pans, but I followed Ina Garten and use 8-inch round pans.
For the raspberry filling between the cake layers, I used this recipe from “Tastes Better from Scratch”: https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/chocolate-cake-with-raspberry-filling/.
For the raspberry Swiss meringue buttercream (SMBC), I used this recipe from “Baking a Moment”: https://bakingamoment.com/chocolate-cake-with-raspberry-buttercream/. I followed what I always do when making SMBC and made sure that the egg white sugar mixture reached 160 degrees Fahrenheit before removing it from the heat.
I served the cake after dinner with neighbors where for the main course we had pesto pasta with roasted vegetables.
I used Cook’s Illustrated recipe for the pesto (https://www.bigoven.com/recipe/basil-pesto-published-july-1-1996-from-cooks-illustrated/799305).
Many pesto recipes call for “2 cups packed basil leaves. In its Cooks Country magazine, Cook’s Illustrated determined that weighing out 18.7 grams of basil is the best way to measure 1 cup of packed basil leaves. I round up to 19 grams per cup, which means I use 38 grams of basil leaves for pesto recipes that call for 2 cups of basil leaves. (https://www.cookscountry.com/how_tos/9324-should-you-pack-your-herbs?extcode=MCSKD10L0&ref=new_search_experience_9)
Before making the pesto, I followed the recipe by Joyful Healthy Eats for roasted vegetables to mix with the pesto and pasta. (https://www.joyfulhealthyeats.com/basil-pesto-pasta-with-roasted-vegetables/)