Chocolate Framboise Bundt Cake

Posted by - Dorrie

A few years ago my homebrewing husband introduced me to a style of beer called "Lambic", which is a Belgian beer traditionally made with fruit added during the secondary fermentation. Lindeman's Framboise is such a Belgian lambic, which has been fermented with raspberries thus producing a rose-pink colored beer, with a slightly sour raspberry taste. After giving the baking challenge a little thought I decided to make a chocolate cake with Framboise since I love the combination of chocolate and raspberry.

Using a recipe that I found on Smitten Kitchen for a Chocolate Stout Cake that she turned into a bundt cake, I replaced the stout with Framboise and made the necessary adjustments for my above 6,000 foot altitude.

Chocolate Framboise Bundt Cake:

1 cup Framboise

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter (reduced 1 1/2 sticks - 3/4 cups for high altitude)

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 cups all purpose flour (increased to 2 1/4 cups for high altitude)

2 cups sugar (reduced to 1 1/2 cups for high altitude)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

2/3 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter or spray a bundt pan.

Bring 1 cup Framboise and butter to simmer in a heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Remove from the heat and add the cocoa powder, whisking until it is smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.

Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a large bowl to blend. Beat eggs and sour cream with hand-mixer or stand mixer to blend. Add the beer-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat to combine. Add the flour mixture and mix briefly on a low speed until blended and then fold the batter with a spatula until completely combined. Pour batter into prepared bundt pan.

Bake until toothpick comes out clean - about 45 minutes at high altitude and less for sea level - about 35 minutes. Allow cake to cool completely in the pan and then turn it out onto cake plate or rack. I drizzled mine with chocolate Ganache and finished it with fresh raspberries.

The chocolate cake with Framboise produced a wonderful cake with a raspberry taste that is not overpowering but seems to bring out the chocolateness of the cake. A real winner in our house!