Devil's Food Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache

This rich, dark and delicious devils food chocolate cake is simple and easy to make, and also light and decadent. Filled with my five minutes vanilla buttercream and frosted with a chocolate ganache this is the ultimate chocolate cake for any chocolate lover. This simple recipe takes five minutes to mix and 40 minutes to bake.

Table of Content

• Ingredients and substitutes
• Step by step instructions
• more chocolate cakes
• Frequently asked questions
• You may also like
• Printable Recipe
• Join the conversation

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This devil's food chocolate cake is one of my absolute favorite recipes. I just trust it so much and it has never failed me. And the best part, it is so versatile; I have made a quick evening dessert cake with ganache frosting, as well as frosted it with whipped cream for a lighter dessert. It has a very stable structure with a tender crumb, and so it's ideal for tiered or carved cakes.

Last summer I made an ice cream cake with this as the base. I cut each layer in two and used a cake ring to layer cake and ice cream. I used two layers of Cookies & Cream and two layers of Belgian chocolate ice creams. Once frozen, I frosted it with fresh cream and drizzled some melted chocolate. I think the kids were in chocolate heaven.

Ingredients and substitutes

• Flour - I use regular all-purpose flour, plain flour (maida), for most of my cakes. It is usually available and on hand in most households.
• Butter - I prefer to use unsalted butter so I can control the quantity of sugar in my recipe. And yet, if salted butter is all you gave go ahead and use it. Just omit salt in the recipe.
• Brown sugar - The molasses in the brown sugar contributes to the soft texture, as well as a rich flavor.
• Eggs - We have only two eggs in this recipe. So make it two good large eggs.
• Sour cream - This can be made at home if you can't find it near you. Here's how you make homemade sour cream. If you must, you can also use buttermilk, which again can be made at home in just five minutes. The sour cream contributes to that tender crumb you get in cakes, and of course, adds more richness.
• Hot water - This melts the cocoa powder and gives this cake that deep, almost black, color when baked. It also makes the cake structure lighter, which works perfectly for dessert-style cakes.

Step by step instructions

Prepare

• Preheat Oven to 170 C / 340 F.
• Grease and line 2x 6-inch round baking pans with parchment paper and cocoa powder.
• Add boiling water to the cocoa powder, stir to combine making sure there are no lumps - set aside to cool.
• Sift remaining dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt - and set aside.

Prepare batter

• In a bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy (This will take a little longer than white sugar as brown sugar is more coarse).
• Add eggs, one at a time, making sure to scrape the sides of the bowl.
• Once the eggs are well incorporated, add the cooled cocoa powder mixture.
• Next, add the flour mixture and the sour cream, alternating in three batches.
• Lastly, add vanilla extract.
• Give it one last mix making sure you have a nice smooth consistency and color.

Bake

• Divide batter equally into two baking pans.
• Bake in the center rack for about 30 to 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
• Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
• Once cooled remove from the pan and let cool completely before you decorate.
• Always decorate cakes when they are completely cold or the frosting will melt off.

Decorate

• Cut the domes off the cooled cake layers.
• Give each one a nice drizzle of simple syrup.
• Place one cake layer on a cake board or platter.
• Add a generous amount of vanilla buttercream frosting.
• Place the second layer on the first.
• Frost the outside with chocolate ganache.
• Use a cake decorating bench scraper or spatula to smooth the top and sides.
• Place any remaining ganache in a piping bag with a star tip nozzle.
• Pipe a border on the bottom and top or as desired.
• Enjoy!

Storage

• The cake will stay fresh for up to four days at cool room temperature, longer if kept in the fridge.
• It can be frozen for a month or more.

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more chocolate cakes

• Death by chocolate cake
• Chocolate mud cake
• Classic chocolate cake
• Raspberry White Chocolate Cake
• See all chocolate cakes or see all layer cakes

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Frequently asked questions

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You may also like

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Printable Recipe

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