Chocolate Cake with Berries and Roses Tea with Rose Scented Mascarpone
Valentines day is upon us along with hearts and flowers. Most of us are waiting for our sweeties to send us flowers and woo us with fancy dinners. My husband and I actually like to spend the time at home. We both travel so much that we prefer to shy away from the busy restaurants. Brian usually cooks dinner for me, for a change. So this year I thought I would try my hand at dessert.
I decided on a rustic looking layered chocolate cake with berries, and rose scented mascarpone. I used Good Earth Tea’s Berries and Roses blend. It added subtle undertones of raspberry and the scent of roses. The black tea is in fact a great compliment to the chocolate. The mascarpone cheese adds a richness to the icing making this cake extra decadent. Which is perfect for the Valentines Day holiday!
Chocolate Cake with Berries and Roses Tea with Rose Scented Mascarpone
ingredients
1 1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 c all purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3 c sugar
3/4 c vegetable oil
1 1/2 c buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups good earth berries and roses tea, brewed (using 1 Tbsp of the dried tea to brew)
8 oz fresh raspberries
8 oz fresh blueberries
fresh strawberries
instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare 3 cake pans with butter or cooking spray.
Sift cocoa, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar into bowl. Beat in oil, buttermilk, vanilla, eggs, and brewed tea, one at a time, using a hand mixer set at low. Beat until smooth, about 2 minutes. The batter will be quite liquid.
Pour batter into pans. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean.
Let cakes cool completely.
Meanwhile prepare the icing. In a large mixing bowl combine mascarpone, powdered sugar, rose extract, and cream together until it forms stiff peaks with hand mixer on medium high speed, like a whipped cream consistency.
Assemble Cake
To make the cake easier to stack carefully slice off the very top to make an even surface. Refer to video in blog post for example.
On top of the first layer of cake spread the mascarpone cheese icing to cover the top completely. Then place raspberries and blueberries on top. Place another layer of the chocolate cake on top and repeat.