Cake

¾ cup softened butter (1 and ½ sticks)
3 eggs at room temperature
2 cups flour
¾ cups cocoa powder
1 box chocolate pudding mix (not prepared, just the powder)
¾ t baking soda
¾ t baking powder
½ t salt
1 cup sugar
2 t vanilla
1 ½ cups whole milk

Oven 350. Grease and flour two 8” cake pans. Beat butter, eggs until fluffy. Add vanilla. Mix dry ingredients in separate bowl. Alternate dry ingredients and milk into butter mixture until blended and smooth. DO NOT put into pans just yet. Prepare swirl first.

Swirl

1/3 c cocoa powder
1/3 c sugar
¼ c water

Mix in small bowl until blended. Pour 1/3 of cake batter into each pan. Pour ½ of the swirl mixture on top of cake batter. Top with remaining cake batter in dollops. Swirl with knife. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes. Cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

2 sticks butter softened (12 seconds in the microwave if you
forgot to take the butter out earlier)
2 bricks 8 oz.cream cheese, softened
2 t vanilla
5-6 cups of powdered sugar
2 T. milk

Beat butter and cream cheese until fluffy. Add vanilla. Beat. Add powder sugar one cup at a time. Add ONE Tablespoon of milk at a time if needed for creamier icing. The milk is not always needed. Place one cake round on cake plate. Run a bead of icing around the top edge. Fill center with your favorite raspberry preserves.

Place second cake round on top. Ice the cake with the remainder of the icing. Cake tastes best at room temperature. You can make this cake a day ahead and refrigerate. Let it sit at room temperature 1-2 hours before eating.