Waffle Cake Chocolate-Raspberry

Ingredients
one 16.25 ounce box of chocolate cake mix plus the ingredients for baking
2 cups of freeze-dried raspberries
1/4 cup confectioner sugar, plus more for dust, optional
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups of heavy cream
6 oz Semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup fresh raspberries

Directions
Special equipment: a waffle maker making round waffles

Preheat a waffle maker that makes round waffles on the medium. Prepare the cake mix according to the packing instructions.

Pour 1/3 cup of the dough into the center of the waffle maker, close the lid and cook until the cake is slightly browned and springs back when you touch it, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Remove the cake from the waffle iron with a fork and place on a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough. You should have 8 waffle cakes. Let them all cool down.

Spread the raspberries with the confectioner’s sugar in a kitchen machine until it looks like dust. Add the mascarpone, vanilla and 1 cup of cream and pulse until thick and creamy.

Place the chocolate pieces in a medium bowl. Heat the remaining 1/2 cup of cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until small bubbles form and it just begins to boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate and stir until melted and smooth.

Place 1 waffle cake on a cake stand or plate. Use an offset spatula to evenly spread a 1/4 cup of raspberry cream mixture across the cake, pushing most of it to the edge of the cake, leaving a small fountain in the middle. Spoon 1 tablespoon of chocolate ganache in the fountain and top with another waffle cake. Repeat with remaining waffle cake, raspberry cream and ganache, with some raspberry cream on top. Decorate the top with the fresh raspberries and drizzle with the remaining ganache (microwave the ganache for a few seconds and stir when it has to be loosened). If desired, dust with confectioner’s sugar before serving.