This is my absolute favourite recipe for chocolate cake (and trust me-I’ve tried plenty!). It is a beautiful texture, very chocolaty, moist and suitable for most celebration cakes whether they require carving or just as a standard layer cake. I use three layers for most of my cakes to give them good height and an epic slice of cake when it’s served.
****Caution**** My mantra in life is BALANCE. I eat wholesome, healthy foods 95% of the time and I am a lover of vegan, vegetarian, gluten free and refined sugar free recipes. This recipe is NONE of those things and accounts for the remaining 5% of my life which is spared for a small slice of indulgence. And I absolutely LOVE IT!
Devils food cake Recipe
Ingredients
75g cocoa powder
150g dark brown muscovado sugar
375ml boiling water
190g soft unsalted butter (plus extra for greasing)
225g caster sugar
340gplain flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large eggs
For the ganache
250g dark chocolate
235mls double cream
Method
1- Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C Fan/gas mark 4.
2- Grease three 20cm/8inch round sandwich tins with bitter and line with circles of baking parchment.
3- Put the cocoa dark muscovado sugar into a bowl and pour in the boiling water. Whisk to mix, then set aside.
4- In a stand mixer, cream the butter and caster sugar together, beating well until pale and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract.
5- Sift the flour, baking powder and bicarb together in another bowl, and set aside.
6- Crack the eggs into a jug and whisk. Pour approx 1tbsp egg into the sugar and butter mixture quickly followed by a scoopful of flour mixture. Repeat until all the egg is added.
7- Now, by hand, keep adding and incorporating the rest of the dried ingredients for the cake, then finally mix and fold in the water and cocoa mixture Ensuring you have a smooth batter with no lumps.
8- Divide the batter between the 3 prepared tins and put in the oven for about 25-30 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.
9- Leave them on a wire rack for 5–10 minutes, before turning the cakes out to cool.
10- Now for the frosting: Roughly chop the dark chocolate into small chunks and place in a heatproof bowl. Add the cream to a saucepan and gently heat until bubbling. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and whisk until the chocolate is melted. The ganache can take 30-60 minutes to cool and thicken so you can make this when your cakes go in the oven in order to save time!
11- When the Cakes are cooled, take your serving board or cake stand And use a dollop of ganache to ‘stick’ the cake to the board. Spread ganache over the top and across to the sides. Repeat with the second and third layers. on the top layer, use a spatula to gently ease the ganache down the sides and smooth the edges as best you can (it doesn’t have to be neat!).
12- You can add sprinkles, chocolate shavings or even drizzle melted white chocolate over the top for decoration!