Chocolate cake with raspberry mousse

Ingredients:

Chocolate cake

• 110g unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly, plus extra for greasing the pan
• 1 cup all-purpose flour (see note) + extra for dusting pan
• 1 cup of sugar
• 0.5 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 0.5 tsp baking powder
• 0.5 tsp coarse salt
• 0.5 cups of sour milk or kefir, room temperature
• 1 large egg at room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Raspberry mousse

• 1 and 1/4 cups (about 140 g) frozen raspberries, thawed
• 1 cup of sugar
• 0.5 tsp salt
• 1 sachet (7 g) gelatin powder
• 110 g of cream cheese, room temperature
• 0.5 cup sour cream, room temperature

White chocolate ganache

• 450 g white chocolate, finely chopped (or chocolate chips)
• 0.5 cups heavy cream

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 175°C. Grease two 20cm round cake pans with butter, line the bottoms with parchment paper, grease the parchment and dust with flour, shaking off any excess.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the melted butter, sour milk, egg, vanilla, and 1/2 cup water until smooth. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture, whisking until fully combined. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pans, smoothing the surface. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through, until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean, about 25 minutes.
3. Transfer the pans to a wire rack and let cool for 15 minutes. Invert the cakes onto the rack, remove the parchment paper, and then invert them again. Place the rack with the cakes on a baking sheet and let cool completely.
4. Raspberry mousse:
   In a small saucepan, mash the raspberries with the sugar and salt and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until thickened and set, 6-8 minutes. Remove from heat, pass the raspberry mixture through a sieve into the bowl of a food processor, and let cool completely.
5. In a small bowl, combine the gelatin with 1 tablespoon of cold water and let sit for 5 minutes to soften. Heat the gelatin in the microwave, stirring until completely dissolved, about 10 seconds. Add the gelatin, cream cheese, and sour cream to a food processor and pulse until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and refrigerate, checking every 5 minutes, until the mousse is thick enough to spread, 5-15 minutes. Don't let it set too much!
6. Place one cake layer on a cake stand and spread the raspberry mousse in the center, spreading it in a thick layer almost to the edge. Top with the second cake layer, aligning them so the cake stands level. Refrigerate the assembled cake for 1 hour.
7. Meanwhile, prepare the chocolate ganache.:
   In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a boil and remove from heat. Add the chocolate, gently shaking the pan to completely submerge it. Let it sit for 3 minutes to allow the chocolate to melt. Stir the mixture until it forms a smooth ganache, then refrigerate until it's thick enough to spread on the cake (like mayonnaise), about 5 minutes. Don't let it set too much!
8. Mix the ganache again and spread it evenly over the top and sides of the cake. Refrigerate the cake until the ganache sets, at least 2 hours or overnight.
   
   
   Note
   
   When measuring flour, spoon it into a measuring cup for dry ingredients and remove any excess. Scooping directly from the bag with a measuring cup will compact the flour, resulting in dry baked goods..