Warm Chocolate-Raspberry Pudding Cake

**Maybe I should make Jessica come over and take pictures of all the food I make!

Another Gourmet cookbook recipe. This is a little different than a traditional pudding cake recipe in that this cake has two separate batters. But, the bottom layer will become the frosting for the cake when you flip it over.

For frosting:
1/2 c seedless raspberry jam
1/2 c heavy cream
3 oz good bittersweet chocolate, chopped

For cake batter:
1/2 c boiling water
1/3 c plus 2 t unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
1/4 c whole milk I used the 1% in my fridge
1/2 t vanilla extract
1/3 c seedless raspberry jam
1 c all-purpose flour
3/4 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1 stick (8 T) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 c packed light brown sugar
1/3 c white sugar
2 large eggs

Put rack in middle of oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Generously butter cake pan (9 by 2 inch round cake pan).

Making the frosting:
Combine jam, cream, and chocolate in a small heavy saucepan and bring to just a simmer, stirring occasionally until smooth. Pour frosting into buttered cake pan.
I was worried that like a traditional pudding cake this had to go into the oven right away. Due to fussy children, I learned that this is not the case.

Make the cake batter:
Whisk together boiling water and cocoa powder in a medium bowl until smooth, then whisk in milk, vanilla, and jam. Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt into another bowl.

Beat together butter and sugars in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour and coca mixtures alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture and beating on low speed until each addition is just incorporated.

Spoon batter evenly over frosting and spread it to cover frosting completely. Bake until a wooden pick or skewer inserted in center of cake comes out clean (frsosting on bottom will still be lidquid), 30-40 minutes. This is where I got a little nervous. My cake had cracked in the center and I could see pudding, but I wasn't sure if it was pudding or cake. I went the full 40 minutes and still worried that it wasn't done, but it turned out to be just a big, deep crack that was completely covered once the cake was inverted.

Cool cake in pan on a rack for 10-20 minutes.

Run a thin knife around edge of pan and twist pan gently back and forth on a flat surface to loosen cake. Invert a cake plate with a slight lip over pan and, holding pan and plate together with both hands, invert cake onto plate. (Frosting will cover sides of cake and run onto plate.)

Serve warm, garnished with raspberries, if desired. And, I would add a dollop of whip cream.