Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter and flour two, 8-inch cake pans; set aside. Place the butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla into a large mixer bowl and whisk for 2 to 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture, alternating with milk, mixing just enough to combine.

Divide the cake batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the cake layers from the oven and turn the cakes over onto cooling racks. Let the cake layer cool completely.

For the frosting: Place the heavy cream, vanilla and sugar into a large mixer bowl. Whisk on high speed for 3 to 5 minutes until stiff peaks form. Gradually, start adding the whipped and softened cream cheese.

Mix the frosting just until the cream cheese is well incorporated, about 1 minute. At this point, reserve 1 cup of the whipped cream for garnishing the top and place it into a pastry bag. Fold in the raspberries by hand into the remaining cream. (If using regular cream cheese, beat the cheese beforehand in a small mixing bowl for a few minutes until it's smooth.)

When the cakes are completely cooled, use a long, serrated knife to cut layers in half. To assemble cake, place the first cake layer onto cake platter. If desired, soak the cake layers lightly with simple syrup or raspberry liqueur at this time. Top with generous amount of the raspberry frosting and spread it evenly to the sides with a spatula. Repeat the process for all 4 layers. If desired, frost the top and sides of the cake, too. Garnish the top with the reserved whipped cream, fresh raspberries, and chocolate bar broken into triangles. Watch my video recipe to see how it's done!

Keep the cake refrigerated until ready to serve.