Devil’s Food Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache

Ultimate 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.

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.

Let’s Talk Ingredients and Substitutes (Save/Pin)

• 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.

Useful Tips and Tools

• If you bake often, it would be a good idea to invest in a cake mixer. Because often we try to mix by hand and then we are too tired to give it enough creaming or mixing. So, if you are making this cake, go ahead and remove that K-Mix or Kitchen Aid from your kitchen cabinet. You don’t have to buy an expensive stand mixer, a simple hand mixer works great too.
• Having said that, a simple bowl, whisk and spatula with a little extra effort will also do the trick.
• Also, I believe in measuring ingredients by weight, which makes my kitchen scale one of the most valuable items when baking.
• And the same goes for mymeasuring cups and measuring spoons. It’s always a good idea to have these handy and use them when baking rather than trying to guess measurements.
• I think one set of baking pans is a must for any home baker. Personally, I like to bake three layers rather than torte my cakes. And it bakes faster too. For most of my layer cake recipes on this blog, I use 3 x 6-inch round pans or 2 x 8-inch round pans.
• Once baked, always invert your cakes on a cooling rack. This encourages air circulation and prevents the steam from pooling at the bottom of the pan.
• Lastly, every oven works differently. So the baking times are just guidelines. In the case of cakes, a skewer inserted in the center is a great indication. If the cake bakes too quick or too slow compared to the time given, it might be a good idea to check if your oven needs calibration. An oven thermometer is a great little gadget to help keep the oven temperature in check. All you need to do then is adjust the temperature accordingly.

How to Make the Ultimate Devil’s Food Chocolate Cake (Save/Pin)

Method

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

• 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.

10 Tips to Successfully Baking a Cake from Scratch (Recipe included)

Learn how to bake a cake from scratch every single time with these 10 tips, step-by-step progress pictures, video tutorial, and more than 50 cake recipes. Understand cake ingredients and how they work before you can use them to get the best results with desired outcomes. This article is going to make you a better baker.

Frequently asked questions

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Devils Food Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache

Author: Veena Azmanov

4.56 from 9 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 30 mins

Total Time: 40 mins

Calories: 367kcal

Adjust Servings Here: 8 Servings

Description

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.

Equipment /Tools

• 2 x 6-inch baking pans
• Stainless steel mixing bowl
• Stand Mixer
• Measuring Cups
• Measuring Spoons
• Spatula
• Whisk
• Baking Tray
• Oven

Ingredients

Makes 2 x 6 inch round or 1 x 8 inch round cake

For the cake

• 113 grams (3.99 oz) Unsalted butter
• 230 grams (0.97 cups) Dark brown sugar
• 2 (2 ) Eggs large
• 190 grams (1.52 cups) All-Purpose flour
• 45 grams (0.52 cups) Cocoa powder
• 120 ml (0.51 cups) Boiling water
• 3/4 tsp (3/4 tsp) Baking soda
• 1/2 tsp (1/2 tsp) Baking powder
• 1/4 tsp (1/4 tsp) Salt
• 120 ml (0.51 cups) Sour cream
• 1 tsp (1 tsp) Vanilla extract

For the filling and frosting

• 300 grams (1.33 cups) Vanilla buttercream frosting
• 300 grams (1.33 cups) Chocolate ganache frosting
• 60 ml (0.25 cups) Simple syrup

ADJUST SERVINGS HERE – 8 Servings

Instructions

Prepare

• Preheat Oven to 170 C / 340 F.
• Grease and line two, 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

• 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 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 on 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!

Recipe Notes

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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Nutrition Information

Nutrition Facts

Devils Food Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache

Amount Per Serving

Calories 367 Calories from Fat 144

% Daily Value*

Fat 16g25%

Saturated Fat 9g45%

Cholesterol 79mg26%

Sodium 233mg10%

Potassium 217mg6%

Carbohydrates 53g18%

Fiber 2g8%

Sugar 31g34%

Protein 5g10%

Vitamin A 505IU10%

Vitamin C 0.2mg0%

Calcium 74mg7%

Iron 2.5mg14%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you

Keywords – cake, chocolate, Devil’s Food, Layer cake

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