For the Fourth of July, a rich, dark chocolate, raspberry cake celebrates the flavors of summer. The raspberries were harvested from Pahlman Farms, but the blueberries were store bought. Our blues won’t be ready for a couple of weeks yet. The frosting recipe was gleaned from Giada De Laurentiis’ Chocolate-Raspberry Layer Cake. The cake is triple layers of devil’s food from Cook’s Illustrated Magazine’s The New Best Recipe. I probably over-beat the batter as the layers came out a little thinner than expected, although they were still moist and had a light crumb.

The secret ingredient was a generous brushing over each layer with Chambord liqueur, which is optional if you are abstaining.
I served this a my father-in-law’s lake party. As soon as I began cutting, a line of appreciative friends and family began to form. I managed to sneak a slice for myself but forgot to set one aside for my husband at the grill station. Alas. Perhaps I only need an excuse to make it again.