Devil's Food Cake

Devil's food cake is a chocolate cake made of Dutch-processed cocoa, and it has a rich and chocolaty flavor. Whether you're baking a cake for a special occasion, or just feel like spoiling yourself with a sinfully delicious slice, you can use this over and over again.

Table of Content

• Why make this cake
• Ingredients and substitutes
• Devil's food cake recipe
• You may also like
• Printable Recipe
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Why make this cake

• 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, 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 the cake and ice cream.

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.

Devil's food cake recipe

Cake

• Preheat Oven to 350°F / 177°C / Gas Mark 4
• Pan - Grease and dust an 8-inch (10-cup) bundt pan with soft butter and cocoa powder. Dust off excess.

• Dry ingredients - Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside
• Wet ingredients - In a large mixing bowl, combine boiling water, cocoa powder, and coffee. Gradually add the oil followed by the sugar. Combine well until the sugar has almost dissolved. Add the eggs followed by the vanilla extract and sour cream.
  Pro tip - Use a whisk to ensure there are no lumps and the eggs are well incorporated.
• Combine - Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and combine well.
  Pro tip - Use a whisk to ensure you have no lumps and do not overmix the batter.
• Bake - Pour batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake on the center rack for about 35 to 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
• Cool - Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then, invert onto a cooling rack and cool completely before you glaze.

Chocolate ganache

• Microwave - Chop the chocolate into smaller similar size pieces and place it in a large bowl or measuring cup. Pour the whipping cream over the chocolate. Add the butter and vanilla extract. Combine well. Heat in the microwave for a minute or more until all the chocolate is melted and smooth. Use a whisk to ensure it is smooth.
• Double boiler - Alternatively, you can heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until it comes to an almost boil. Then, pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate. Let stand for 2 minutes. Combine with a spatula until it is smooth.
• Rest - Cover the ganache with plastic. Leave to set in the fridge for 2 hours or on the counter for 4 hours until it’s about peanut butter consistency.
  Pro tip- in summer you may need to place the ganache in the fridge to set. If it gets hard, place it in the microwave for no more than 10 seconds until you have a spreadable consistency.

Decorate

• Simple syrup - Prepare simple syrup - cool completely before using.
  Pro tip- Simple syrup is just sugar water that has been boiled and cooled. Used to keep cake layers moist.
• Using a bread knife or cake leveler cut the domes off the cake layers. Cut each cake layer horizontally into two so you have 4 layers. Brush each layer with the cooled simple syrup
  Pro tip - you can also split each layer horizontally to make four layers
• Stack - Place a cake layer on the cake board or cake stand. Top with a big dollop of ganache - spread evenly using a straight-edge spatula. Then top the second cake layer on top followed by more ganache and the second layer. Top with a big dollop of chocolate ganache and spread with an off-set spatula
• Frost - Next, spread the whipped ganache on top or sides of the cake. Using a paddle motion when spreading will help smooth the ganache better. Place the cake in the fridge to chill for 10 to 15 minutes.
  Pro tip - A straight-edge spatula for the top, an offset spatula, and a bench scraper for the sides work better.
• Pipe - Pipe a line of ganache at the bottom of the cake. Use a spatula to create swirls towards the top of the cake. Place any remaining ganache in a piping bag with a star-tip nozzle. Pipe a border on the top or as desired.

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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Printable Recipe

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