Victorian Raspberry Cake
or Raspberry Cupcakes

This versatile recipe will make a 3-layer cake or 36 cupcakes. The delicate cake is iced with a buttery raspberry frosting. My favorite jam for this recipe is the blackberry-raspberry jam from www.goodjam.com, but you can use any seedless raspberry jam. When using a natural food coloring, you will need to double the amount in the cake, but not in the frosting. If you are making cupcakes, they will need to bake for about 20 minutes. Because the icing is so rich and buttery, you may want to pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes and sprinkle them with a decorative sugar. The cake is also very delicate when first baked, so allow plenty of time for the cake to cool before decorating with icing.

Raspberry Cake Batter

2 ¾ cups cake flour
3 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ¾ cups fat-free milk
¼ cup seedless raspberry preserves
8 drops red food coloring

Raspberry Icing

1 cup butter, softened
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract
¼ cup seedless raspberry preserves
2 teaspoons whole milk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
4 drops red food coloring

Party Sugar, coconut, fresh raspberries or edible flowers

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 .

2.  Butter and flour three 8 x 8-inch nonstick square or round
     cake pans.

3.  Batter: Sift the flour, baking powder and salt onto a plate.

4.  In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar with a mixer on
     low speed. Beat in the eggs, one at a time just until blended.
     Add in the vanilla and continue to beat for 1 minute.

5.  Beat in a third of the sifted flour, then half of the milk.
    Add in another third flour, and then the rest of the milk.
    Beat in the rest of the flour.

6.  Beat in the preserves and coloring just until blended.

7.  Divide the batter between the cake pans. Bake in preheated
     oven for 25 minutes or until cake bounces back when lightly
     touched. You can also insert a toothpick to test the cakes.

8.  Icing: In a medium bowl, using clean beaters, cream the
     butter; add confectioners' sugar on low speed. Add almond
     extract, raspberry preserves and milk, vanilla extract and     coloring.

     Continue to beat about 1 minute or until fluffy.

9.  When the cakes are done, let them cool completely in cake
     pans while sitting on a cooling rack. Then, place one cake layer
    on a large plate or cake pedestal plate. Ice the top of the cake,
     then top with second cake and ice completely. Top with
     third cake and complete icing. Sprinkle with party sugar or
     use coconut, fresh raspberries or edible flowers.