Ok so remember the skinny chocolate cake I made when Anthony passed his CPT exam? Well, Daddy turned the big 5-0 this year and he specifically requested chocolate cake, made by me. I, of course, was more than happy to oblige on the condition that it be made my way (so we can ensure he sees at least another 50 years!). So this was absolutely my go-to recipe, but with a twist.
Dad requested a chocolate raspberry cake. Total wild card. This would be a first for me because I generally avoid berry anything. As we’ve previously discussed, I hate raspberries (all berries, actually), but it was his birthday, so raspberries there would be. Since I’d never actually made raspberry sauce before, I had to call in the experts on this one. I whipped up this easy, homemade all-natural raspberry sauce, just slightly adapted from Ina Garten’s recipe (skipped the liquor and a few minor process changes explained below).
Total success! I wound up straining the cooked raspberries to create a thicker sauce since I was using it for a cake filling. But, if you wanted to keep this as a yummy sauce to drizzle over your ice cream, cake or other dessert of choice, definitely keep the liquid but follow the rest of the recipe. It’ll make for a pourable sauce that’s just as delicious as the filling version.
Everyone really enjoyed it and, with a few fresh raspberries on top, Dad had his healthy cake and ate most of it, too (sharing only as much was absolutely necessary). I still don’t do raspberries, though. 🙂
- 1 half-pint package fresh raspberries
- ½ cup all-natural cane sugar
- ¼ cup water
- 1 cup (12 ounces) all-natural seedless raspberry jam (with fruit juice)
- Add the raspberries, sugar and water to a small saucepan and bring the mixture to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 4-5 minutes.
- Strain the cooked raspberries over a large bowl and pour the strainer contents into the bowl of a food processor with the jam. Reserve the liquid for another use or discard. Process until smooth and chill until ready to use.