The Ultimate Devil's Food Cake

I dreamt about chocolate cake the other night.

Chocolate cake plagues me unlike any other baking project. There are so many versions, from buttermilk to cocoa to flourless. Until now I’ve been sticking with my go-to recipe (from the back of the Hershey’s box), but can one person ever be satisfied with just a single back-pocket chocolate cake recipe?

If that person is me, the answer is no.

In my dream, I was sitting on a rooftop with a crowd of people. We were all eating huge slabs of a three-tiered cake with a rich chocolate flavor and a nearly black color that belied its light texture. A sugary drift of white frosting capped it off.

They say dreams can come true, and I’m here to testify to that effect. That cake exists, and it is the devil’s food cake recipe from the back of a very old Swans Down cake flour box.

This cake straddles the line between moist and light. The crumb isn’t particularly dense (it makes for messy slicing unless you freeze the layers before frosting), but it’s softer and more luscious than a classic yellow layer cake would be.

I didn't feel the original recipe was quite chocolaty enough, so I added some black cocoa powder and a pinch of espresso powder. Do add the cocoa (the espresso powder is optional and serves only to amplify the flavor of the chocolate).

You can make this cake in two 9-inch layers or three 8-inch layers. I feel that a triple-layer cake lends a nice sense of occasion to an otherwise ordinary week, so I make mine accordingly.

Swans Down Devil's Food Chocolate Cake

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Ingredients

2/3	cup shortening, at room temperature
2 1/2	cups sifted cake flour
1 3/4	cups sugar
1 3/4	teaspoons baking powder
1	teaspoon salt
3	tablespoons black cocoa powder or Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2	teaspoon espresso powder (optional, for more chocolate flavor)
1 1/3	cups whole milk, divided
1	teaspoon vanilla
2	eggs
3	ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, melted and cooled

2/3	cup shortening, at room temperature
2 1/2	cups sifted cake flour
1 3/4	cups sugar
1 3/4	teaspoons baking powder
1	teaspoon salt
3	tablespoons black cocoa powder or Dutch-process cocoa powder

1/2	teaspoon espresso powder (optional, for more chocolate flavor)
1 1/3	cups whole milk, divided
1	teaspoon vanilla
2	eggs
3	ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, melted and cooled

A word or two on frosting: Chocolate is a very friendly flavor and is amenable to many toppings. This cake would be lovely with a dollop of sweetened whipped cream. You could fold crème fraîche into that sweetened whipped cream for a sturdier result. You could serve the cake with vanilla ice cream.

The options continue: Try the cake with caramel icing, chocolate buttercream, or malted milk frosting. Dulce de leche, rum, peppermint, and peanut butter would all be smart choices.

I have a deep and abiding love for seven-minute frosting, that fluffy, sugary cloud that’s also called boiled icing or angel icing (making it a nice literary pairing for devil’s food cake). Seven-minute frosting has no fat, just egg whites and sugar, which is a good contrast to a richer, more decadent cake.

This frosting does not keep particularly well, so ideally you should frost the cake the day you're serving it. After a day, the frosting gets sticky and develops a thin, crunchy layer: I happen to love the feel of that crystallized sugar on my tongue, but I have the sugar tolerance of a very hungry 5-year-old. Consider your own preferences, and plan accordingly.

Seven-Minute Frosting

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Ingredients

4	egg whites
3	cups sugar
1/2	cup cold water
1/4	teaspoon cream of tartar
3	tablespoons light corn syrup

4	egg whites
3	cups sugar
1/2	cup cold water

1/4	teaspoon cream of tartar
3	tablespoons light corn syrup