This cake is dangerously delicious. Consider yourself warned. It's a match made in heaven, dark chocolate and raspberry, definitely rich, but not too sweet. It was the perfect cake to celebrate the engagement of my daughter Melissa and my soon to be son-in-law, Mike, another match made in heaven. Let me digress for a moment. You may have noticed that I've neglected my blog for a while. It's not that I haven't wanted to blog, I've just been busy. Last month Paul and I headed west and toured the Grand Canyon, Bryce and Zion National Parks, Monument Valley and Lake Powell. We had a fantastic time and when we returned home, I intended to sort though my 2000 new photos, do some inspired cooking and blog about some wonderful southwestern food. But you can see by the large gap since my last posting,
that never happened.
A few days after we returned home, Melissa and Mike announced their engagement. Not only did they announce their engagement, but they also announced that the did not want a long engagement and planned to get married this September. Yes, I said THIS SEPTEMBER...time to kick it in gear. They are young, they are in love, and they have energy. They will make this happen even if it kills them! All wedding craziness aside, I couldn't be happier for them. Melissa found her soulmate and we are so pleased to welcome Mike into our family. They complement each other...just like chocolate and raspberry.
Saturday night, Mike's mother hosted a dinner in celebration of Mike and Melissa's engagement. My job was to bring dessert. After much consideration I decided to make a Chocolate Raspberry Maryann Cake and
this tart. If you are not familiar with a Maryann pan, take a look at it
here. I've read that Crate and Barrel also carries them. It's sort of an old fashioned cake pan, so maybe your grandma has one buried in the cupboard.
