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As true chocoholics will know and understand: one can never really have enough chocolate. And a chocolate cake as a perfect cure to a chocolate craving, especially when the cake we’re thinking of is a Devil’s Food Cake. This cake is one of the richest and most delicious things you will ever taste, so you might want to save it for extra-special occasions — or not. Chocolate cake made from scratch and covered with a chocolate buttercream frosting, I mean – come on!

The decadent and extra-special nature of this cake might suggest that it’s only for a special occasion, but we’d argue that no special day is needed for a cake like this; it will surely impress everyone who has the good fortune to enjoy such a moist and delicious chocolate cake. We start with the cake, and the ingredients are fairly simple: flour, sugar, cocoa powder, eggs, and all of the usual suspects needed for cake preparation. We add one more very critical ingredient: black coffee. The addition of coffee not only helps to moisten the cake, but the coffee flavor will actually make enhance the chocolate flavor, and so we get a cake that is extra moist AND extra chocolaty.

Not to be ignored here is the frosting, and there’s really something amazing about a homemade buttercream frosting. It makes the cake that much more devilishly decadent if we can manage to not eat all of the frosting before it goes on the cake! We’re not too worried about appearances here, but an icing spatula will be very helpful when it comes to frosting the cake. A few decorative flicks of the wrist will add a little flare to the final presentation. Now we ready to grab a fork and dive into a big slice of this beautiful chocolate cake!

It’s totally fine if you fall so deeply in love with it that you want to make it all the time. That’s what happened to us, so we won’t judge. Aside from being absolutely extraordinary, this cake also has magical powers, it can turn even the most steadfast of non-chocolate lovers into believers! For any parties or celebrations, or if you just have some free time and want to indulge, this cake is there for you. Make it and you won’t be disappointed!

Devil’s Food Cake

Yields 1, 8 or 9-inch cake

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, plus extra for dusting
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing pans
  • 1 cup hot coffee
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Frosting:

  • 5 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350º F and place oven racks in the center of oven.
  2. Lightly grease the cake pans (2-3, depending on how many layers of cake you want) with butter and dust bottom and sides of pans with cocoa powder. Tap out excess.
  3. In a medium bowl, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Set aside.
  4. In a large bowl or mixer, cream butter and sugar together for 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Scrape down sides of the bowl.
  5. Add in cocoa powder and vanilla extract, then (one at a time) add in eggs; wait for each to be fully incorporated before adding the next.
  6. In a bowl or glass, combine buttermilk and hot coffee.
  7. Alternate between adding flour mixture and coffee mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix until just incorporated.
  8. Divide batter into the prepared cake pans and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Rotate pans halfway through baking.
  9. In a large bowl or mixer, cream together butter and cocoa powder until fluffy. 3-4 minutes.
  10. Alternate between adding in powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon heavy cream.
  11. Repeat until all sugar and cream has been added. Then add in vanilla extract, espresso powder, and salt. Mix until just combined.
  12. Remove cakes from oven and let cool 15 minutes, then turn cakes out onto wire racks to finish cooling.
  13. If cakes have risen into slight domes, level off the tops and place cakes in fridge. This makes them easier to frost.
  14. Once chilled, transfer cakes to cake stand and frost however you want.

    Note: You can leave sides bare and just frost the top and in between layers, or you can frost the entire cake and use a piping bag to add detail. Adding chocolate curls (use a vegetable peeler) to place on the frosting is another option.

Recipe adapted from Chocolate, Chocolate and More.

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