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Devil's food cake

17/11/2023

The Devil’s Food Cake is a classic American chocolate dessert, known for its rich moisture and tempting flavor. Here’s how to make an Italian version of the recipe:

Ingredients

  • 200 g of flour
  • 1 teaspoon of baking soda
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 60 g of unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 100 g of soft butter
  • 300 g of brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • 240 ml of milk
  • 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar (to simulate the traditional American buttermilk)
  • Dark chocolate as needed for the topping

Preparation

  1. Preheat the oven to 180 °C (356 °F).
  2. In a bowl, mix the sifted flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder.
  3. In another bowl, cream the soft butter with the brown sugar until you achieve a frothy mixture.
  4. Add the eggs, one at a time, incorporating them well into the mixture.
  5. Combine the vanilla extract with the milk and add the apple cider vinegar, mix and let it rest for 5 minutes.
  6. Alternating, incorporate the dry ingredients and the milk and vinegar mix into the butter and egg mixture.
  7. Pour the batter into two equal-sized buttered and floured cake pans.
  8. Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
  9. Let the cakes cool in the pans for a few minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
  10. For the topping, melt the dark chocolate in a double boiler and let it cool down slightly.
  11. Spread a layer of dark chocolate over one of the cakes, stack the other cake on top, and finish with dark chocolate all over the surface.

Interesting Facts

The name “Devil’s Food Cake” is probably due to its “sinfully” rich texture and intense chocolate flavor, in contrast to the Angel Food Cake, an extremely light and white cake. It is a very popular cake in the United States, often accompanied by a chocolate ganache or buttercream to make everything even more delicious. In preparing the recipe, I suggested using apple cider vinegar in the milk to simulate buttermilk, common in American sweet recipes for its ability to make desserts particularly soft and moist.

I hope you have fun preparing this delight. If you need variations or advice on how to accompany this cake, I’m here to help!

Devil's food cake