Raspberry Chocolate Ganache Cake

My birthday this year was AWESOME.  It all started by dinner at a delish Indian restaurant with my girls Anna and Rachel, which was, it turns out, a decoy for the surprise party waiting for me at home.  Jordan the wonderful pulled it off beautifully, without my having a clue.  This was all on Friday, the 28th.  Saturday, the actual day commemorating my birth, we went to my parents' house for lunch (I had asked my mom to make one of my favorite casseroles) and then headed to Richmond.  We stayed in our favorite spot, the Linden Row Inn, formerly a group of row homes in which Edgar Allen Poe lived for a short time. For dinner, we hit up Ipanema, a delicious restaurant near VCU that serves up some of the most delicious vegan/vegetarian food on this side of the nation.  (I got a vegan caesar salad with grilled tofu, which is definitely worth the trip to Richmond.)  On Sunday, we hit up a local coffee shop, Lift, and then headed to the Virginia Science Museum.  For lunch, we hit up a place called Crossroads which is a coffee shop/restaurant that served mediocre vegan food.  I wouldn't recommend it to friends.

Anyway, the real reason for this post is to share my birthday cake recipe.  This year, primarily because I wanted to give it a shot, and partially because of extenuating circumstances, I made my birthday cake.  And, may I just say...It was scrumptious.

To emphasize this point, I must tell you, my grandfather ate a rather large slice of this cake.  My grandfather is a strictly steak and potatoes kind of guy and he typically refuses to eat anything which he suspects to be vegan.  He ate the entire piece and actually (grudgingly) said that it was "good."

I'm fairly new to baking, so, I stuck to the recipe I found for the most part, but I pulled from several sources.  The end result was a Chocolate Raspberry Ganache Cake.  I'm not even going to pretend it was remotely healthy.  But, hey.  It was my birthday.

Raspberry Chocolate Cake (adapted from Raspberry Blackout Cake)

1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I used cake flour)

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups soy milk

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup raspberry preserves (I used Nature's Own -- a balanced mixture of tart and sweet)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups sugar

*Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  
*In a large bowl, combine oil, preserves, vanilla, and sugar with a mixer until the preserves and sugar are disolved.  
*Slowly add in the dry ingredients, making sure they become fully incorporated.
*Pour into lightly greased pans (this will make enough for two springform pans)
*Bake at 350 for 40 - 45 minutes.  


Chocolate Ganache Filling
1/3 cup almond milk (soy or rice milk would work fine as well)
1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (Ghiradelli are made without milk, there are other vegan options available as well)
2 tbs maple syrup


*In a small sauce pan, bring the almond milk to a boil.  Lower heat and add chocolate chips and maple syrup.  Mix with spatula or whisk until smooth.
*For this recipe, place in refrigerator for approximately an hour until it reaches a spreadable consistency.


Chocolate Icing
1/2 cup softened vegan margarine
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tbs vanilla
2 tbs almond/soy milk
1/4 cup cocoa powder


* Mix margarine until it is smooth.  Add in other ingredients and mix thoroughly.


TO ASSEMBLE!
*Spread remaining raspberry preserves on the bottom layer of cakes.  
*Lightly spoon and spread ganache over raspberry preserves.
*Add the second layer of cake.
*Add icing!
*Top with raspberry truffles if you so desire.