Raspberry Chocolate Fudge Red Velvet Cake

You’ll Need:

1 (18.25 ounce) box of red velvet cake mix
1 (3.9 ounces) box of instant chocolate fudge
pudding and pie filling mix
1 1/4 cups water
1/2 cup crème de cocoa or raspberry liqueur or brandy
1/2 cup cooking oil
4 jumbo or extra large eggs (at room temperature)
1 (12-ounce) jar of seedless raspberry jam
Vanilla buttercream frosting, old-fashioned 7-minute
icing or chocolate fudge frosting

Procedures: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10-inch Bundt or tube pan or wax paper-line two greased 9-inch heart-shaped layer pans.

In a large bowl, combine cake mix, pudding mix, water, crème de cocoa or raspberry liqueur or brandy, and oil; add eggs and beat at medium speed of an electric mixer for 4 minutes, scraping down sides of the bowl as necessary. Fold in pecans. Spoon into prepared pan(s). Bake for 30 to 35 minutes (heart-shaped layer pans) or 45 minutes (tube or Bundt pan), or until a cake tester is inserted into the cake layers or the cake comes out clean.

Let cake or cake layers cool for 10 minutes in the pan(s), top side up for tube cake and upside down for Bundt cake.

Turn out onto wire rack(s) to finish cooling.

For a heart-shaped cake, arrange one layer on a cake serving plate. Evenly spread raspberry jam over the cake layer. Top with a second layer. Evenly spread top and sides with the frosting of choice.

For tube or Bundt cake, spread the frosting of choice over the top and sides of the cake. Sprinkle decorative confectioners’ red sugar over the cake as desired.