Devil's Food Cake
America's dark chocolate layer cake, the opposite of angel food: a dense, moist cocoa cake in two layers with a rich, fudgy chocolate frosting.
Devil's food cake is the dark twin of angel food cake. Wikipedia says the first recipes under the name "Devil's Food Cake" are generally credited to Sarah Tyson Rorer in her 1902 books, although they were not the first such cakes. Nobody knows exactly where the name came from. The most common theory is a contrast with angel food cake, which was popular in the late 1800s; Wikipedia also notes the cooking use of "deviled" for rich, dark or spicy dishes. Another clue is the color: devil's food often contains extra baking soda, and natural cocoa in a higher-pH batter turns a reddish mahogany, Wikipedia explains, which links it to the old mahogany cakes and to red velvet (our Red Velvet Cake recipe). King Arthur Baking calls its version the most traditional of chocolate cakes, dark and dense.
🇺🇸 This one is American
America's dark chocolate layer cake, the opposite of angel food: a dense, moist cocoa cake in two layers with a rich, fudgy chocolate frosting.
🇦🇹 The original
Vienna's original is a dense chocolate sponge spread with apricot jam under a hard, glossy chocolate glaze, served with unsweetened whipped cream. See the Sachertorte (Viennese Chocolate Apricot Torte) recipe.
🗳️ Red velvet or devil's food? Vote: Red velvet vs Devil's food →
📖 Myth check: Is German Chocolate Cake German? The Man Behind the Name → 📖 Origin story: Who Invented Molten Chocolate Lava Cake? Two Chefs Claim It →
Why it works the kitchen science
Long creaming
Beating the butter and sugar for a full 5 minutes traps air, which keeps a cake this heavy with cocoa from turning dense and dry.
Cocoa bloomed in hot cream
Whisking the cocoa into simmering cream dissolves it and brings out its flavor, so the frosting tastes like fudge without melted chocolate.
Step by step
- Step 1
Heat the oven to 350°F. Grease and lightly flour two 9-inch round cake pans.
- Step 2
Beat the butter, sugar and salt for at least 5 minutes, until fluffy and pale. Whisk the flour, cocoa and baking powder in another bowl.
- Step 3
Beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir the milk and vanilla together. Add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the milk in two, mixing after each and scraping the bowl. Divide between the pans.
- Step 4
Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick in the center comes out clean and the cakes start pulling away from the sides. Cool 10 minutes, turn out and cool completely on racks, about 1 hour.
- Step 5
For the frosting, sift the cocoa, 1 1/2 cups (170 g) powdered sugar and the espresso powder into a bowl. Heat the cream to a simmer, whisk it in and keep whisking about 1 minute until the lumps dissolve. Cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes.
- Step 6
Beat the butter, salt and the remaining 2 cups (227 g) powdered sugar until fluffy, then beat in the vanilla. On low speed, add the cocoa mixture a spoonful at a time, then beat 1 minute on medium.
- Step 7
Set one layer on a plate, spread with about 1 cup of frosting, top with the second layer and cover the top and sides with the rest.
Devil's Food Cake
Serves 12 · one 9-inch two-layer cake · 1 hr 5 min total
Cake
- 12 tbsp (170 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 3/4 cups (347 g) superfine or granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp table salt
- 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup (64 g) Dutch-process cocoa
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups (340 g) whole milk, at room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Chocolate frosting
- 1 3/4 cups (149 g) natural cocoa
- 3 1/2 cups (397 g) powdered sugar, sifted, divided
- 1 tsp espresso powder (optional)
- 1 cup (227 g) heavy cream, at room temperature
- 16 tbsp (227 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/8 tsp table salt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Method
- Heat the oven to 350°F. Grease and lightly flour two 9-inch round cake pans.
- Beat the butter, sugar and salt for at least 5 minutes, until fluffy and pale. Whisk the flour, cocoa and baking powder in another bowl.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir the milk and vanilla together. Add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the milk in two, mixing after each and scraping the bowl. Divide between the pans.
- Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick in the center comes out clean and the cakes start pulling away from the sides. Cool 10 minutes, turn out and cool completely on racks, about 1 hour.
- For the frosting, sift the cocoa, 1 1/2 cups (170 g) powdered sugar and the espresso powder into a bowl. Heat the cream to a simmer, whisk it in and keep whisking about 1 minute until the lumps dissolve. Cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes.
- Beat the butter, salt and the remaining 2 cups (227 g) powdered sugar until fluffy, then beat in the vanilla. On low speed, add the cocoa mixture a spoonful at a time, then beat 1 minute on medium.
- Set one layer on a plate, spread with about 1 cup of frosting, top with the second layer and cover the top and sides with the rest.
Cake adapted from King Arthur Baking's "Devil's Food Cake" (Susan Reid). Frosting adapted from King Arthur Baking's "Super-Simple Chocolate Frosting", sized for a two-layer cake. King Arthur's cake page suggests a vanilla buttercream; we chose its chocolate frosting. We use whole milk (King Arthur allows milk or water) and natural cocoa in the frosting (it allows either). Serving count is ours. King Arthur Baking. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (3)
Tips
- Room-temperature eggs and milk keep the batter from breaking.
- Never frost a warm cake; King Arthur says the frosting will sink and the cake may tear.
- Chill the layers 30 minutes before frosting for neater sides.
- For the old "angel and devil" look, frost it with a white frosting instead, as King Arthur's page suggests.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Sarah Tyson Rorer invented devil's food in 1902. Disputed: Wikipedia credits her with the first recipes under that name but says they were not the first devil's food cakes.
- It is called devil's food because it is the opposite of angel food. Disputed: the most common theory (Wikipedia), but the "deviled" cooking term and the reddish color are rival explanations.
- Devil's food is redder than other chocolate cakes. Documented as the chemistry Wikipedia describes (extra baking soda with natural cocoa); King Arthur's modern version uses Dutch cocoa and baking powder and bakes dark brown instead.
- Devil's food must have coffee. Folklore: many recipes use it; King Arthur's cake uses milk or water.
Every other chocolate cake
Sachertorte (Viennese Chocolate Apricot Torte)
Vienna's famous chocolate torte: a light, dark chocolate sponge split and filled with apricot jam, brushed with more jam and covered in a glossy poured chocolate glaze, served with unsweetened whipped cream.
Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (Black Forest Cake)
The real Black Forest cake: three layers of chocolate sponge brushed with kirsch, sour cherries and a light vanilla cream, covered in cream and dark chocolate shavings, the way the Black Forest's own tourism board makes it.
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