Butter two 8” round cake pans (preferably aluminum cake pans with high sides), line each with a round of parchment paper then butter the parchment paper. Lightly dust with cocoa powder. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 Deg F.

In a mixing bowl whisk together the eggs, coconut milk, avocado oil and raspberry syrup. Add in the cake mix and mix until fully combined. Fold in the chocolate chips then gently fold in the cocoa dusted raspberry halves. Divide the cake batter evenly between the two pans. place side by side in the oven and bake for 25-35 min or until top of cake bounces back when pressed gently.

Let cool for 10 min in cake pan then release to wire cooling racks to cool completely. Frost and decorate when completely cool.

Set a sauce pan filled ¼ the way with water over medium heat to bring to a low simmer.

In a bowl of a stand mixer or large mixing bowl combine the egg whites, sugar, salt, cream of tartar and vanilla extract. Whisk well. Set over the pan of simmering water, making sure the mixing bowl isn’t touching the water, and whisk for 7 minutes or until temperature is 165-170 on a digital thermometer.

Whip the mixture on high with a whisk attachment if using a stand mixer or regular beater blades if using a hand mixer. Whip until the bowl is cool to the tough and meringue has just about tripled in volume. Add in the butter one tablespoon at a time and mix until all the butter is added in and the butter cream has thickened. Flavor with 1-2 tablespoons Torani raspberry buttercream and color with pink or red natural food dye ( optional for more pink buttercream)

Either draw hearts or print out heart clip art on a piece of white paper. Set a piece of wax paper over the top. Melt the chocolate in a bowl in a microwave at 50% power for 30 seconds at a time, stirring after every 30 seconds until melted. Let cool a few minutes then transfer to a plastic piping bag. Snip off the very end.

Trace the heart outlines with the chocolate. You can go over it two or three times for a thicker heart if desired. Once the edges have set you can fill, make designs or leave as an outline. Let firm up completely before using. You can speed up the chocolate firming by placing the wax paper with the hearts on a tray and set in the freezer for 20 min. The frozen heart outlines will be more fragile so handle carefully. Make extra in case some break.

Place one cake layer on a cake stand. Brush with one tablespoon Torani raspberry syrup. Spread a thin later of buttercream just short of the edges. Fill piping bags fitted with various size open star tips, whichever design you like, and fill with remaining butter cream. Pipe on rosettes, large and smaller stars around the edge.

Press fresh raspberries into the buttercream. Fill the middle with a little more buttercream to make it even then press more raspberries into the buttercream.

Place the second cake layer on top. Brush with one tablespoon of Torani raspberry syrup. Decorate the top with rosettes around the edges, large and smaller stars or rosettes to fill in the rest of the top of the cake. Pipe one large rosette in the middle. Press raspberries into the buttercream between each of the rosettes on the edges. Carefully remove the chocolate hearts from the wax paper. Place the largest one in the large rosette in the middle of the cake. Smaller hearts into the smaller rosettes around the edges.

Refrigerate cake if not serving immediately. Bring to cool room temperature before serving.