Three-Layer Raspberry, Vanilla Cake with White Chocolate and Raspberry Jam Frosting

Tieghan Gerard’s smashed raspberry cake with white chocolate frosting is my new favorite dessert. Three layers of the fluffiest vanilla cake with raspberries swirled throughout and finished with a sweet white chocolate & raspberry jam frosting. It’s perfection in a cake—seriously!

A few weeks ago, I received a message that excited me so much I wanted to turn a few somersaults. I had been nominated as Cook of the Week for the largest daily newspaper publication in Northeast Mississippi. I’m not saying that to “toot my own horn,” not in the least—it’s more so to let you know that when I received the message, I was surprised, then elated and VERY nervous about the interview process. Mississippi is home to so many incredible cooks, and while cooking is one of my most favorite things to do, I believe I’m surrounded by many who’d fit the script for Cook of the Week before me.

I was told I needed to prepare a recipe for photographs, so when I started to think of what I could make, I decided to go with a recipe created by my favorite food blogger on the planet, Tieghan Gerard, from Half-Baked Harvest. Her recipes are incredible, and she makes everything seem so simple to duplicate. Her photography is beautiful too, so finding one of her recipes to use for the interview was a no-brainer for me.

Photo by Thomas Wells, Daily Journal

I followed her directions “to the t,” beating together the coconut oil, yogurt, eggs, sugar, buttermilk and vanilla. I mixed in the dry ingredients next and then folded the raspberries into the batter. It was the prettiest raw cake batter I’ve ever seen…just look at this!

The secret ingredient Tieghan uses for the frosting is the same secret ingredient used for the batter, which really isn’t much of a secret at all since it’s in the title of the recipe…ha! The frosting calls for white chocolate, butter, powdered sugar and vanilla, and it tastes enough to eat by itself. The trick, however, is swirling the frosting with some high quality raspberry jam once it’s on the cake, and I promise the result is one raspberry cake that is on a whole “notha” level. Seriously—the best ever!

Here’s what I think you should do: 1) make this cake. 2) enjoy a slice while reading the article in the Daily Journal. 3) subscribe to this blog after you read about all the cool things we discuss.

My nervousness about this whole process started to disappear during the interview. Ginna, the Food & Living Editor, made me feel at ease and we spent the time discussing food, blogging, home decor, our families and more. It felt just like having a close friend in my home for a moment. When I read the article, I became even more grateful for those few moments we shared. While we covered many topics during the interview, deep down, I wanted the “why” behind doing what I do to be the part that resonated with her.

I lost both of my parents within two years. Mom’s death was extremely sudden, and I will likely be in shock for the rest of my life. I feel her life was much too short, and I want nothing more than to continue living her story and telling it through the things I do on this blog. She was the most generous host I’ve ever known. Then there’s my Dad. He was as kind as they come, and I’ve never known another person more able to find joy in the midst of heartache quite like he was able to do. He was calm, and he was content—never getting caught up or distracted by “stuff.” He loved his people deeply, and if you were meeting him in passing for the first time, you felt like you were one of them. This blog is a combination of the best parts of both my parents, and my desire is to use their lives as a way to inspire those who read my posts for the better.

Ginna nailed it with the article, and she wrote about my mama in a way that made me feel like I get to keep sharing her story. I think you should read it, too.

You can read the Daily Journal article here!