Devil’s Food Cake is a classic and popular dessert that has been enjoyed for generations. It is often served on special occasions, such as birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays. The cake is believed to have originated in the United States during the late 19th century and was named after its devilishly dark colour.
Brief History and Origin
The earliest known reference to devil’s food cake dates back to 1839 when it was mentioned in an English cookbook. It spread throughout Europe, eventually becoming popular in North America during the late 19th century. At this time, the recipe for the cake varied from region to region. Some recipes used cocoa powder, while others used melted chocolate or cocoa butter.
In the early 20th century, devil’s food cake began appearing in American cookbooks with recipes similar to those in Europe. These recipes called for ingredients such as cocoa powder, baking soda, eggs, butter, and sugar. In some cases, cream of tartar was also added to create a lighter texture and flavour.
Devil’s Food Cake – The Recipe
- Preparation Time: 55 mins
- Cooking Time: 30 mins
- Additional Time: 1 hrs 25 min
- Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 50g unsweetened chocolate
- 225ml water
- 100g butter
- 275g white granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 175g all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp. baking powder
- Pinch of salt
For the American Frosting
- 450g caster sugar
- 2 egg whites
- 135ml water
Instructions
- Prepare the oven and preheat it to 175 degrees C. Also, prepare 2 8” pans by lightly greasing and then dusting with flour.
- In a pan over medium heat, add chocolate and butter until it melts. Then mix and remove from heat, and leave to sit until cool.
- In another bowl, add eggs and sugar, whisk until light in colour, then pour in the chocolate mixture and beat well. Now add boiled water and mix until well combined.
- Add salt, baking powder and flour in another bowl, and mix well and thoroughly to the chocolate mixture. Then add milk and mix again until well incorporated.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pans and place in the oven; bake for 30 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
For the American Frosting
- In the meantime, add sugar in a saucepan over medium heat, pour in water and heat until sugar dissolves. Then bring to a boil and boil until temperature reaches 115 degrees C.
- In a deep bowl, add eggs and whisk until stiff peaks appear. Pour over the sugar mixture while whisking until the mixture turns matt around the edges.
- Sandwich the cakes with a little frosting in the middle. Decorate the cake with the remaining frosting peaks all over the cake. Place in a cool place before serving.
Popular variations
Here are a few ways you can change this basic recipe to adjust it to your liking:
- Devil’s Food Cake with Real Strawberry Frosting: You are adding a spin-off to the Devil’s food cake with seasonal fresh strawberries frosting. It is fresh and add a fruity element to rich cake.
- Death By Chocolate Devil’s Food Cake: If you can get enough of chocolate then this sinful death by chocolate Devil’s food cake will tingle your senses with rich chocolate explosion.
- Chocolate Devil’s Food Cake and Raspberry Supreme Cake: This cake has delicious layers of Vanilla frosting with fresh raspberries and chocolate butter cream gives the tradition finish to this 3-tier cake.
- Devil’s Food Donuts: We think making Devil’s food cake into donuts is genius. You can have that fluffy texture of a donut with richness of the devil’s food cake. Indeed, a party pleaser.
- Devil’s Food Bundt Cake with Chocolate Espresso Ganache: The combination of chocolate and coffee is always superior. If you love this combination then you must try the expresso ganache for the Devil’s food cake.
