Devil's Food Cake
intro
Rich, deeply fudgy chocolate layer cake with silky chocolate buttercream, a nostalgic American dessert beloved by chocolate lovers for its moist, tender crumb.
Ingredients
Steps
Prep Oven and Pans
Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F) with a rack positioned in the center. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans thoroughly with butter or nonstick spray, line the bottom of each pan with a circle of parchment paper, and lightly dust the sides with cocoa powder to avoid white flour residue on the dark cake layers.
Whisk Dry Ingredients
In a large mixing bowl, combine 220g all-purpose flour, 65g (¾ cup) of the Dutch-processed cocoa powder, 300g granulated sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and 1 teaspoon of the fine sea salt. Whisk vigorously for 30 seconds to fully combine and break up any cocoa lumps, ensuring leavening is evenly distributed.
Mix Cake Batter
Add 240ml room-temperature buttermilk, 120ml vegetable oil, 2 room-temperature large eggs, and 2 teaspoons of the vanilla extract to the dry ingredient bowl. Mix with an electric hand mixer on low speed for 1 minute, then slowly stream in 240ml hot (just off boil, ~95°C/200°F) brewed coffee, mixing on low for an additional 30 seconds until the batter is smooth and thin; the thin consistency is normal and creates a moist crumb.
Bake Cake Layers
Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans (roughly 480g of batter per pan). Bake for 28-32 minutes at 180°C (350°F), until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out with 2-3 moist crumbs attached (not coated in wet batter, not completely clean). Do not overbake, as this will result in a dry, crumbly cake.
Cool Cake Layers
Let the cakes cool in their pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes at room temperature, then run a thin offset spatula around the inner edge of each pan to loosen the cake, invert the layers onto the wire rack, and peel off the parchment paper circles. Allow layers to cool completely to 21°C (70°F) for 1 full hour before frosting, as warm cake will melt buttercream on contact.
Make Chocolate Buttercream
In a large bowl, beat 226g softened room-temperature unsalted butter with an electric mixer on medium speed for 3 minutes until pale and fluffy. Add 360g powdered sugar, the remaining 45g (½ cup) cocoa powder, 60ml heavy cream, the remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and remaining ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt. Mix on low speed for 1 minute to incorporate, then increase to medium-high and beat for 2 more minutes until light, smooth, and spreadable.
Assemble and Frost Cake
Place one fully cooled cake layer on a cake stand or serving plate, spread 240ml (1 cup) of the chocolate buttercream evenly across the top in a 1cm (½-inch) thick filling layer. Place the second cake layer on top, centered, then use the remaining buttercream to frost the top and sides of the cake in a smooth, even coat. Chill the assembled cake in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to set the frosting before slicing and serving.
Tips
2.Use room temperature eggs, buttermilk, and butter: cold ingredients fail to emulsify smoothly, leading to a dense, uneven crumb in the cake and lumpy, hard-to-spread buttercream.
3.Hot coffee amplifies the deep, rich chocolate flavor without adding a prominent coffee taste; substitute equal amounts of hot water if you prefer to make the cake caffeine-free.
OMG this devil’s food cake is SO good! I made it for my kid’s birthday potluck at school and every single parent asked for the recipe. It stayed moist for 3 whole days in the cake carrier, total game changer compared to the dry box mix I usually grab. 10/10 will make again for our Sunday family dinner next month!
Tasted absolutely incredible, but I definitely underbaked my first round because I forgot the cooling time is factored into the total cook time listed! Oops. Second batch came out perfect, super rich and moist, paired great with a cream cheese frosting I had on hand. My husband ate two slices before I even got it fully frosted.
Made this for my book club meetup last weekend and everyone raved! I topped it with the chocolate ganache recipe linked on the site and it was pure decadence. Even my friend who swears she doesn’t like chocolate cake went back for a second slice. No notes, this is going in my permanent recipe rotation.
As someone who’s still pretty new to baking, I was nervous this would be too hard since it’s marked medium difficulty, but the steps were super straightforward! I made it for my roommate’s birthday and he thought I bought it from the fancy bakery downtown. Only change I made was using coffee instead of hot water to amp up the chocolate flavor, chef’s kiss.
Flavor is 10/10 but I had to adjust a ton for my 6,000ft elevation — first batch sank right in the middle! I ended up adding an extra 2 tbsp of flour, knocking the baking soda down by 1/4 tsp, and baking 10 minutes longer and it turned out fine. Wish there were high altitude notes included for those of us up in the mountains!
SO rich, SO moist, exactly what a devil’s food cake should be! I’ve tried half a dozen devil’s food recipes online over the years and this is the first one that doesn’t come out dry or bland. The secret with the brown sugar in the batter? Total game changer, I’ll never skip that again.
Made this with my 8 year old daughter for our Father’s Day family cookout and we had a blast making it together! She loved helping measure the cocoa and stir the batter, and the final cake was a huge hit with the whole crew. Only thing is we ran out of powdered sugar for frosting so we topped it with whipped cream and fresh berries and it still slapped.
I was worried a from-scratch cake would be too much work for weekly treat prep, but this came together faster than I expected! I portioned slices into individual containers and they held up great all week for after-dinner desserts. Only knock is it’s a little too rich for my taste to eat every single night, so I’ll save it for special treats going forward. Perfectly moist even on day 5, I was shocked.
Took this to my office potluck last week and it was gone in 10 minutes flat! People were hovering by the dessert table waiting to cut a slice. I used a salted caramel buttercream between the layers and the sweet-salty combo with the deep chocolate cake was unreal. Will absolutely be making this for every office event from now on.
Quick question — I’m planning to make this for a birthday party on Saturday and want to get as much prep done on Friday as possible so I’m not rushing around when guests arrive. Can I bake the layers a day ahead and store them in the fridge? Also, does this make two 9-inch layers like most devil’s food cakes? I’ve heard nothing but amazing things about this recipe so I’m super excited to try it!
I made this dairy free for my son who has a milk allergy by swapping the butter for vegan stick butter and using dairy free milk, and it turned out perfectly! I was worried the texture would be off but it was just as moist and rich as the regular devil’s food cake I remember growing up. My kid loved it so much he asked for it for his end-of-soccer-season team party.