Devil's Food Cake
A wickedly rich, deeply chocolatey cake layered with smooth chocolate buttercream and covered in glossy chocolate sauce.
Del Holland
- prepare
- cook
- 10-14 servings
- Moderate
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Caption:Del Holland's Devil's Food CakePhoto credit:Supplied
This cake is the best chocolate cake I've ever made. It's dark, dramatic and absolutely perfect for Halloween - especially if you finish it off with a spider web design made from melted white chocolate. For even more drama, sprinkle a little edible glitter or place a chocolate spider on top before serving.
This cake stays so moist that it's still a winner five days after you've baked it (even though it's unlikely to last that long).
Ingredients
- Cake
- 265g all-purpose flour
- 375g caster sugar
- 65g cocoa powder
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tsp salt
- ⅔ coffee shot, or ⅔ tsp instant coffee powder mixed with 1½ tbsp boiling water
- 220g whole milk
- 85g vegetable oil
- 85g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 2 large eggs
- 165g boiling water
- Chocolate Buttercream Filling
- 113g unsalted butter (softened)
- 25g dark baking cocoa (sifted)
- 0.75g fine salt (a small pinch)
- 155g icing sugar
- 45g cream
- 58g dark chocolate chips, melted and cooled
- Chocolate Sauce (for coating)
- 340g dark chocolate, chopped
- 60g unsalted butter
- 20g brown sugar
- 250g cream
- For the spider web design
- 50g white chocolate, melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170°C fan (340°F). Grease and line two 20cm (8- inch) round cake tins with baking paper.
- Combine dry cake ingredients in a large bowl - sift in the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, and salt. Give it a good stir to combine.
- Add wet cake ingredients - pour in the coffee, milk, oil, melted butter, and the eggs into a jug. Mix until smooth. Add to your dry ingredients.
- Carefully stir in the boiling water until fully combined. The batter will be thin, that’s what makes it so moist and fudgy.
- Divide the mixture evenly between the tins and bake for 30–35 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. If your tin is a little deep and not as wide as mine, it may take 45 minutes.
- Cool in the tins for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool fully.
- To make the chocolate sauce using the double boiler method, place the dark chocolate, butter, brown sugar, and cream into a heatproof bowl.
- Set the bowl over a pot of gently simmering water, ensuring the bottom doesn’t touch the water. Stir until melted and smooth.
- Remove from the heat, pour into a jug, and allow to cool completely; it will thicken slightly as it cools.
- If it becomes too thick, warm it in the microwave for 10 seconds at a time until pourable. When you are ready to decorate and only at that time should you do this.
- Note: Make sure you make the sauce to coat the cake while the cakes are baking. It needs to be completely cool before you pour it over the cake. If it isn't, it will just run off the cake and not coat it properly.
- To make the chocolate buttercream filling, first beat the softened butter until pale and creamy.
- Add the powdered sugar, and beat again until pale.
- Melt the dark chocolate in the microwave until smooth and glossy. And then add in the cream. If it seized up a little, pop it back in the microwave for 10 secs at a time until it is smooth and creamy.
- Add the cocoa and salt, then mix well. Set aside until ready to use.
- To assemble and decorate: First spread the chocolate buttercream evenly on one cake, and set the other on top.
- Place the cake on a wire rack set over a tray. Pour the cooled chocolate sauce over the top, letting it drip beautifully down the sides until fully covered.
- Create the spider web by melting the white chocolate and spooning it into a small piping bag. Pipe concentric circles over the top of the cake (like a target). Drag a toothpick or skewer from the centre outward through the circles to create a spider web pattern. Repeat around the cake for the full web effect.
