Deliciously rich and decadent, this devil’s food cake is a chocolate lovers dream! This double layered frosted cake is perfect to serve for any occasion.
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Best Devil’s Food Cake
This is one recipe for all you chocolate lovers…it really doesn’t get much better than this!
This devil’s food cake recipe is the perfect dessert to serve to friends and family. Made from scratch, it’s wonderfully moist and rich, and I can assure you, one slice is not enough!
Why You’ll Love this Devil’s Food Cake Recipe:
- Perfect for occasions: This cake will easily serve 8 and it’s perfect for birthdays, Valentine’s, Easter, and any other time you need some chocolate cake!
- Easy: This is actually a pretty simple cake to make and you need just a few basic ingredients.
- Chocolatey: It wouldn’t be devil’s food without the super rich chocolate flavor. It’s just so tasty!
If you prefer your cakes on the lighter side, be sure to try my Angel Food Cake.
How to Make Devil’s Food Cake
Be sure to see the recipe card below for full ingredients & instructions!
- Grease two baking pans and sprinkle with cocoa powder.
- Whisk together cocoa powder and boiling water, whisk in the milk.
- Mix together the dry ingredients.
- Cream together the butter and sugar and add in the vanilla and eggs.
- Combine the cocoa mix with the sugar and butter, then mix in the dry ingredients.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake.
- Let cool before frosting (chocolate buttercream recipe in recipe card below).
While you can use any unsweetened cocoa powder you prefer, I like to use natural cocoa powder here because the baking soda helps to neutralize the acidity of natural cocoa powder, letting its rich flavor shine.
Once you have made your devil’s food cake and let it cool, it can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for around 3 days, frosted or unfrosted. It will keep for a few extra days in the fridge, but it tends to dry out a little.
You can freeze the cakes, unfrosted, for up to 3 months. Let the cakes cool completely before covering them well in plastic wrap. Thaw the cakes at room temperature for a few hours before frosting.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- Your ingredients should all be at room temperature. This will help them combine more easily so that you have a consistent texture throughout.
- It’s quicker and easier to mix everything together with a stand mixer, but you can make the cake by hand too. It will take a little longer, but make sure that everything is well combined.
- Ensure that the Devil’s food cake is fully cooled before frosting it. Warm cake will cause the frosting to melt and separate.
What is Devil’s food cake?
This rich chocolate cake first appeared in the 1900s. Originally, lots of red food dye was added to the cake and it had a bright reddish-brown color (like red velvet cake).
So what’s the difference between Devil’s food cake and regular chocolate cake? Mainly, it’s the addition of more baking soda, which interacts with other ingredients to create a denser texture, a richer flavor, and a slightly darker color.
What’s the best frosting for Devil’s food cake?
I’ve included a recipe for chocolate buttercream to top off this rich cake. You can’t go wrong with more chocolate! Plus the creamy frosting compliments the fluffy cake so well.
I can not wait for you all to try this delicious Devil’s Food Cake recipe. So rich, so chocolatey and quite simply, the best! I can’t wait to see you all try it!
If you make this recipe be sure to leave us a comment or rating. Enjoy!
Best Devil’s Food Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For the Cake
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder 42 grams
- ⅓ cup boiling or very hot water 76 grams
- ⅔ cup milk 151 grams, room temperature
- 2 cups all purpose flour 240 grams
- ½ teaspoon baking soda 3 grams
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter 226 grams, room temperature (2 sticks)
- 1½ cups granulated sugar 300 grams
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 4 grams
- 3 large eggs 150 grams, room temperature
For the Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter 226 grams, room temperature (2 sticks)
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder 63 grams
- 4 cups powdered sugar 450 grams, sifted
- 3 tablespoons milk 43 grams
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 8 grams
Equipment
- Kitchen Scale (optional)
Instructions
For the Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat the sides of two 8-inch round cake pans with butter, and then sprinkle a light dusting of cocoa powder over the butter. Set the pans aside until the batter is ready.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the cocoa powder and the boiling water. (If the mixture is too thick, add in 1 tablespoon of hot water until it looks like creamy chocolate frosting. Once it is well combined, allow the mixture to cool for about 2-3 minutes. Once it has cooled, whisk in the milk until it is smooth and creamy, then set aside. (The mixture should be similar to very chocolate hot cocoa, or dark chocolate milk. Be sure to whisk until all of the cocoa powder is dissolved.)½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, ⅓ cup boiling or very hot water, ⅔ cup milk
- In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.2 cups all purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together until creamy. Continue mixing on low, adding in the vanilla, then the eggs.1 cup unsalted butter, 1½ cups granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 3 large eggs
- Add the cocoa mixture to the butter mixture, mixing on medium speed until it is all well combined. Add in the flour mixture in batches, while mixing on low to medium speed. Continue mixing until the batter is smooth and creamy.
- Evenly divide the batter into the two prepared pans and bake for about 28-30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean or the top of the cake springs back when touched.
- Remove from the oven and allow the cakes to cool before frosting.
For the Frosting
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter with the cocoa powder until well combined and creamy.1 cup unsalted butter, ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- With the mixer on low speed, slowly add in the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, allowing it to be mixed in. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl if necessary.4 cups powdered sugar
- Add in 3 tablespoons of the milk, and the vanilla, allowing the frosting to become smooth. Add in additional milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it reaches your desired texture.3 tablespoons milk, 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Notes
- Your ingredients should all be at room temperature. This will help them combine more easily so that you have a consistent texture throughout.
- It’s quicker and easier to mix everything together with a stand mixer, but you can make the cake by hand too. It will take a little longer, and make sure that everything is well combined.
- Ensure that the cake is fully cooled before frosting it. Warm cakes will cause the frosting to melt and separate.
- This frosting will stiffen if it is chilled. If you want to use it to design your cake, allow it to chill for about 10 minutes before piping.
I use to meme a pudding cake. I then did a pudding cake mixed cake mix I then cooked chocolate pudding and pour it all over the cake.them bake.when you spoon it the cake is on top and the pudding mix was on the bottom and it was delicious. Please help me find the recipe. Thank you. Doris Phillips
How do you put the chocolate sprinkles on the end of the cake? I like the way you decorated the top. Anxious to try it. Thanks Happy holidays!