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Author:
Franco Salzillo
The famous Devil’s Food Cake is one of those decadent desserts that make you roll your eyes back in satisfaction.
Moist and pillowy, and with lots of chocolate frosting, this beauty is undoubtedly crowd-pleasing. And although there are some pretty complicated recipes out there, the one you’ll find below is not hard at all.
Did you know the Devil’s Food Cake goes back to 1905? The secret ingredient is not chocolate; that’s an obvious one, but baking soda — that’s what gives the cake its airy feel despite being packed with unctuous chocolate.
This fantastic cake is all about buttermilk, eggs, flour, the essential baking soda and some vegetable oil. A teaspoon of vanilla helps, but the most important ingredients are the cocoa powder that’ll flavor the cake layers and the bakers’ chocolate to give richness and a glossy look to the frosting.
You’ll need two 8-inch cake pans, though, since you want two cakes sandwiching a thick frosting layer in the middle. That’s what makes the cake so decadent. It’s layers over layers of pure chocolate bliss.
As for the garnish, the frosting alone will do, but feel free to top your cake with shaved chocolate, cocoa powder or even some cherries or whipped cream. Make it as devilish as you want!
This is a fantastic birthday cake, by the way, and will make any get-together memorable, that’s for sure. The Devil’s Food Cake might have a scary name, but it’s more noble than everyone thinks.
For the cake:
For the frosting:
Grease two 8-inch cake pans and preheat the oven to 350°F.
In a mixing bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, sugar and vanilla. Mix well.
Using a sifter, incorporate the flour, cocoa powder and baking soda.
Divide the batter between the baking pans and bake them for 25-30 minutes or until cooked through. Let the cakes cool in a rack.
For the frosting, combine the shortening and butter with an electric mixer.
Melt the chocolate in the microwave with 10-second pulses. Incorporate the chocolate into the shortening-butter mixture.
Add the powdered sugar gradually and add milk to hydrate the frosting. Add more milk if needed.
To assemble the cake, spread a frosting layer over one cake, place the second cake on top and cover the layered cake with the rest of the frosting.
