J'adore Raspberry

I tested a new recipe this weekend - j'adore raspberry.  It is a raspberry swirl cake with raspberry ganache filling and white chocolate buttercream.  I love berries with chocolate and think raspberries are delicate but carry a big punch of flavor and mesh perfectly with rich bittersweet chocolate. 
I started off with the cake. I opted for a dense cupcake to withstand the pureed and chopped raspberries I was throwing in. My dilemma was do I swirl the puree into the batter before I spoon it into the cups or do I add it to the cups and swirl it in with a toothpick.  I tried both methods by splitting the batter in half.  I was much more pleased with the outcome of the 1st technique and found that if I just barely folded in the puree just until it ran through the batter as swirls, then this held up much better in the baking than trying to swirl it into each actual cup which actually caused the puree to leak into the sides of the cups rather than into the center of the batter. 

The cake seemed moist and tender upon baking but as it cooled, I found it to dry up a little too much for my liking so I will be sure to add some plain yogurt or sour cream to it on the next test. 

The filling consisted of a classic ganache recipe using heavy cream, bittersweet chocolate, and fresh raspberry puree ( I removed the seeds).  I used my new favorite technique of a melon baller tool to spoon out a portion from the top of the cake and added a heaping teaspoon of cooled ganache into it. Then I replugged the hole.

Finally the frosting was a white chocolate buttercream. I melted white chocolate slowly over a double boiler and let it cool. Next I whipped some room temperature butter until fluffy and pale yellow and then added the cooled chocolate. Finally came the powdered sugar which I tend to add atleast a cup more than most recipes call for because I like the frosting to stiffen slightly and stay put when I pipe it onto the cake. 

Overall I am very pleased with this recipe but want to make sure to test it again and try to increase the moisture.  Although my test tasters at my day job seemed to give it rave reviews and didn't notice any dryness but I guess it is hard to notice when you bite into it along with the ganache and buttercream. But I noticed it and want to make it better!