Tender chocolate cake is layered with raspberry jam and rich chocolate ganache (a mixture of melted chocolate and whipping cream) in this great dessert. Fresh raspberries make a pretty and easy topping.

INGREDIENTS

Cake:

• Nonstick vegetable oil spray
• 2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. (If cakes form domes, place kitchen towel atop hot cakes, then press gently with palm of hand to level.) Cool completely in pans on cooling racks. DO AHEAD:Can be made 1 day ahead.

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Coffee is a brewed drink with a distinct aroma and flavor, prepared from roasted coffee beans, the seeds found inside “berries” of the Coffea plant. Coffee plants are cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in the equatorial regions of the Americas, Southeast Asia, India and Africa. The two most commonly grown are the highly regarded arabica, and the less sophisticated but stronger and more hardy robusta. The latter is resistant to the coffee leaf rust, Hemileia vastatrix, but has a more bitter taste. Once ripe, coffee beans are picked, processed, and dried. Green (unroasted) coffee beans are one of the most traded agricultural commodities in the world. Once traded, the beans are roasted to varying degrees, depending on the desired flavor, before being ground and brewed to create coffee.

Coffee is slightly acidic (pH 5.0–5.1) and can have a stimulating effect on humans because of its caffeine content. Coffee is one of the most popular drinks in the world. It can be prepared and presented in a variety of ways. The effect of coffee on human health has been a subject of many studies; however, results have varied in terms of coffee’s relative benefit.The majority of recent research suggests that moderate coffee consumption is benign or mildly beneficial in healthy adults. However, the diterpenes in coffee may increase the risk of heart disease.

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