Devils food cake is a classic recipe that has been around for decades. A moist and fluffy chocolate cake is topped with buttery sweet frosting and sprinkled with extra chocolate flakes.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease two round cake pans with butter. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, mix together the cake flour, baking soda and salt.
In a separate bowl, beat together the white sugar, brown sugar and softened butter with a hand mixer.
Add in the buttermilk, vanilla, eggs and mix.
Add the dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Beat together to create the cake batter.
Add boiling water (from a kettle) plus bakers chocolate to a small bowl. Stir together 1-2 minutes until chocolate has melted.
Pour in the melted chocolate into the batter. Beat until creamy.
Divide the batter evenly into two cake pans. Tap three times on the counter to help remove air bubbles. Bake for 25 minutes. After baking, let sit in pan for 5 minutes. Remove and add cakes to a rack to cool completely.
Frosting Instructions:
Heat water and sugar in a saucepan. Let boil 1 minute stirring frequently.
Add in the bakers chocolate and continue stiring gently until the chocolate melts, about 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
In a medium bowl, beat together the butter and powdered sugar. Add in the butter, vanilla and melted chocolate. Beat until smooth and creamy.
Cake Assembly:
Add a dollop of frosting to the serving dish you plan to use. Place the first cake on top of that frosting (helps it to stay put). Spread frosting all over the cake and sides. You have alot of frosting so feel free to add extra to the top - this will become the middle frosting layer.Place the second cake on top.
Frost the top and sides of the second cake. Spread smoothly with a spatula.
Use a vegetable peeler to create chocolate shavings from a square of bakers chocolate. Sprinkle on top. Slice cake into pieces, serve and enjoy!
Recipe Notes:
Make your own buttermilk by combining ⅔ milk with 3 tsp of food-grade vinegar or lemon juice. This will create the acidity that is also found in buttermilk.
It’s important to use baker’s chocolate and not regular chocolate. Baker’s chocolate will melt perfectly and create a smooth consistency for baking.
How To Soften Butter: Leave butter on the counter for a few hours so that it’s softened. Another trick to speed up the process is to heat boiling water and pour it into a bowl. Dump the water out and quickly cover the butter with the upside down bowl. This should soften the butter in a few minutes.
Tap the cake pans with batter on the counter three times to help remove any air bubbles. This will help to produce a more consistent cake.
For maximum freshness, store the cake in an airtight container in the fridge or counter for up to 4 days.