Martha Stewart's Show-Stopping Chocolate Cake Gets a Kick From An Unusual (Boozy!) Ingredient

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, SheKnows may receive an affiliate commission.

We’ll find just about any excuse to bake a cake, whether it’s a birthday, a potluck, a work celebration, or just a Friday. Another person we know of who also gets the “any time is cake time” mentality? Martha Stewart. The author of Martha Stewart’s Cake Perfection (available at Target and Amazon) has churned out some seriously impressive sweet stacks of sponge in the past, from her orange and poppyseed sheet cake to her three-step bundt cake. Now, she’s created another doozy, and this one’s boozy: a chocolate raspberry cake that’s flavored with Chambord raspberry liquer and covered in a thick and creamy chocolate cream cheese frosting.

On July 17, Stewart shared a pic of the mouthwatering recipe, saying, “Our chocolate-raspberry cake is a layered creation loaded with decadent chocolate flavor. It features three layers of cake, a homemade raspberry filling, and a creamy chocolate frosting. While it’s a bit of a project, you won’t need any complicated equipment or ingredients. And the payoff? A delicious layer cake that’s sure to wow. Get the recipe at the link in our bio. 📷: @brieism.”

Stewart’s chocolate raspberry cake recipe includes several ingredients that elevate it beyond a basic chocolate cake or anything you could make from a boxed mix. For one, she skips the flavor extracts and uses a raspberry liqueur to boost the berry flavor of this cake. Then, instead of using water or regular milk to make the cake, Stewart uses buttermilk. Buttermilk helps give baked goods a tender texture, and it also adds a bit of a tangy flavor. Finally, to give the cake it’s dramatic color, Stewart uses Dutch processed cocoa powder. For good measure, she adds melted chocolate to the cake batter, too.

In between the layers of chocolate cake, Stewart adds a raspberry filling that’s simply made from raspberries, sugar, and lemon juice. It adds a touch of fresh sweetness that helps break up the richness of the cake.

Finally, there’s the frosting. It’s a really special frosting that you’ll want to put on everything, because it has so much more character than a classic American buttercream. Stewart’s frosting is made with cream cheese and creme fraiche or sour cream, which gives it a bit of tang along with a dairy richness. It includes the requisite butter and powdered sugar, but is super chocolatey thanks to the addition of both cocoa powder and melted chocolate.

The next time you want to make a cake that wows a crowd, how could you not try this chocolate raspberry cake recipe from Martha Stewart? From the tender chocolate sponge to the fresh raspberry filling and layers of cream cheese frosting, anyone you serve this dessert to will be talking about it for awhile to come.

Before you go, check out the gallery below:

Watch: How to Make Gorgeous Chocolate-Covered Strawberries That Have a Sweet Surprise Inside