recipe notes
step-by-step method
recipe card
Life is complicated. Sometimes you just want simple, like a slice of chocolate cake. And it wouldn’t be right for me to start a blog called Devil’s Food Kitchen without giving you a devil’s food cake recipe. This one is decadent and rich, with chocolate ganache as the filling and finishing coat instead of buttercream. Most people enjoy it with a glass of milk, but I prefer bourbon (to each their own). Anyway, here’s to simple. Bon appetite.
recipe notes
Bring your butter and wet ingredients to room temperature before starting to ensure proper emulsification in the batter. A quick way to warm your wet ingredients is to add them to a bowl and place that over another bowl filled with hot water. Stir until the mixture is room temp.
All of my baking times are approximate. Usually if a cook asks me how long to bake something I say “until it’s done.” I’m not trying to be a jerk, it’s just that baking time is always going to vary from one oven and kitchen to the next, and any baking times should only be used as a guide. Use your all of your senses, including common sense, to determine when something is done.
devil’s food cake
yield: 2 x 9″ cakes
ingredients
292g butter unsalted
754g brown sugar
350g whole eggs approx. 7 eggs
8g vanilla extract
364g all purpose flour
18g baking soda
364g whole milk
78g cocoa powder
385g sour cream
method
Combine and cream your butter with the brown sugar in a stand mixer using a paddle attachment for approx. 3min or until fully homogenized (mixed together).
Combine the whole eggs, vanilla extract and sour cream.
Heat the whole milk (steaming is hot enough) and combine it with the cocoa powder, whisking well.
Add the cocoa powder mix into the other liquid ingredients.
Combine the flour and baking soda and sift.
Alternately add the egg mixture and the dried ingredients to the creamed butter. I like to do this in three additions, making sure everything is thoroughly mixed, scraped and mixed a bit more before the next addition.
Even when all of the ingredients are properly emulsified into the batter, it will appear slightly broken.
Bake: convection oven; 160C/330F; approx. 10min, rotate, 18min
chocolate ganache filling
ingredients
420g chocolate 58%
210g chocolate 41%
210g butter
100g glucose can substitute with light corn syrup
630g heavy cream
4g salt
method
Combine the heavy cream and corn syrup and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
Pour the cream mixture, while hot, over the chocolate and let sit for 5min.
Add the butter and salt and whisk the mixture together or hand blend until it’s completely emulsified.
Place a layer of plastic wrap onto the ganache, touching to avoid forming a skin.
- 292 g butter unsalted
- 754 g brown sugar
- 350 g whole eggs approx. 7 eggs
- 8 g vanilla extract
- 364 g All-purpose flour
- 18 g baking soda
- 364 g whole milk
- 78 g cocoa powder
- 385 g sour cream
- 420 g chocolate, 58%
- 210 g chocolate, 41%
- 210 g butter unsalted
- 100 g glucose can substitute with light corn syrup
- 630 g heavy cream
- 4 g salt
- Combine and cream your butter with the brown sugar in a stand mixer using a paddle attachment for approx. 3min or until fully homogenized.
- Combine the whole eggs, vanilla extract and sour cream and reserve.
- Heat the whole milk until steaming and combine it with the cocoa powder, whisking well.
- Add the cocoa powder mix into the other liquid ingredients.
- Combine the flour and baking soda and sift.
- Alternately add the egg mixture and the sifted dry ingredients to the creamed butter mixture in three additions. Scrape the mixing bowl and homogenize between additions.
- Bake: convection oven; 160C/330F; 10min, rotate, 18min
- Combine the heavy cream and glucose and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
- Pour the cream mixture, while hot, over the chocolate and let sit for 5min.
- Add the butter and salt and whisk or hand blend the mixture together until fully emulsified.
- Transfer ganache to a container to cool. Place a layer of plastic wrap onto the surface of the ganache to avoid forming a skin.
This cake looks fantastic! If I want to make it for an event, how many days in advance will work? Thank you!
Hi Angie!
Sorry to reply so late to you. This cake will hold for 3-5 days in the fridge or up to six months in the freezer.
Cheers – Chef Scott
Hi Chef! Are the quenelles also from the ganache recipe?
Thanks Chef!
Hi!
Yup, you got it. The quenelles are the ganache from the recipe. Hope you give it a try!
Cheers – Chef Scott
Hello chef scott ,
I have been taking a lot of picnics through your blogs and god what picnics!! I am a 28 years old dentist and i have this baking passion since forever , i started baking since i was 15 years old maybe . Anyway i really appreciate your work here and the way you post those recipes !! I really like the way you talk about them so thanks a lot for such pleasure !!
Now for this amazing cake i am going to make it this weekend hopefully and i will tag you in Instagram to see the result , i have one question though
I have a recipe for this cake which is almost the exact same ingredients except that there is boiling water with a touch of espresso powder instead of milk. What i hope that you could teach me here is that in terms of science what is the difference that i could get in texture and taste?
P.s those oval decoration that you always use if you could tell us how to make them !!
All the best chef
Hi Osama,
Thanks very much for the compliments, I’m really glad you like the blog!
The difference between using water and milk will be very slight, and honestly I doubt there would be much to detect in the finished product (as long as the quantities are about equal). Using milk you gain about 3.2-3.5% fat and some sugar in the form of lactose, but both of those quantities will be very low compared to the other fat (butter or oil) and sugar in the recipe. Using espresso powder can have a big effect of course in taste depending on the amount added. Obviously in a large amount it will make a cake taste like mocha, but in a small amount it can add depth to the flavor of a chocolate in the cake.
Good luck with the cake this weekend, I’m sure it will be awesome!
Cheers – Chef Scott
Thanks chef .
It was really great and the ganache texture made my day .
Thanks for the info , i will keep it in mind and thanks for the like
Looking forward for the next recipe to try from here .
Yours,
Osama
Chef are you using natural or dutch-processed cocoa powder?
Hi Carolyn,
I’m using dutch-processed for most of my recipes. Good question!
Cheers – Chef Scott