The Ultimate Devil's Food Cake Recipe (With Step Images)

Desserts rarely rouse such fiery debate as devil's food cake. Some say this dark two-layer chocolate cake was created in response to angel food cake, while others insist the name was inspired by the red pigments in cocoa powder. Bakers can't even agree on the ingredients and proportions needed to create its strikingly intense flavor and velvety texture. What's not a matter of contention, however, is just how delicious a slice of devil's food cake is. Our recipe makes the ultimate version, infused with melted chocolate (in addition to the usual cocoa powder) and sour cream to create a moister cake with richer chocolate flavor.

Defining Devil’s Food Cake

A good devil's food cake, like ours, is as decadently dark and tempting—some might say sinful—as its name implies. There is debate about what a devil’s food cake is, but it’s generally agreed that it’s a delightfully dark and chocolaty filled and frosted two-layer cake.

History

Devil’s food cake emerged in the early 1900s when baking chocolate and unsweetened cocoa powder became more readily available and affordable. Several cookbooks of this period contained recipes for devil's food cake, and it soon became a favorite. It seems to have been named to emphasize its tempting nature and to position it as the alter ego to the already popular angel food cake.

Variations

If you consult different cookbooks and websites or talk to your baker friends, you'll find variations in what they consider a proper devil’s food cake. Some sources assert coffee must be used in the batter, many use milk, some call for sour cream, and others say that unsweetened melted chocolate should be used in addition to cocoa powder.

Even the frosting can be contentious, perhaps even more than the cake itself. There are devil’s food cakes finished with shiny chocolate ganache, with billowy white meringue frosting, or with various types of luscious chocolate frosting.

Key Ingredients

Our recipe differs from some devil's food cakes—this version is moister and more chocolaty, with a tender crumb. Here are the ingredients that make it the ultimate:

Dutch-process cocoa powder: Be sure to use Dutch process, not natural cocoa powder. It produces darker, smoother-tasting chocolate than the natural variety.

Melted chocolate: Most devil's food cake recipes rely on cocoa for their chocolate flavor. In this recipe we use cocoa and melted chocolate to make it really chocolaty. The chopped bittersweet chocolate is stirred together with boiling water and the cocoa so it incorporates into the cake batter smoothly.

Sour cream: Not all devil's food cake recipes call for sour cream, milk is more common, but we use it in this recipe because it creates a tender crumb and a moist texture—some devil's food cakes can be a tad dry.

Directions

Yuki Sugiura

Preheat oven and prep pans:

Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans. Line bottoms with parchment rounds; butter parchment.
Combine boiling water and chocolate; mix flour, baking powder and soda:

Stir together boiling water, cocoa, and chocolate in a bowl. Let cool 10 minutes. Whisk together flour, baking powder and soda, and salt in another bowl.

Yuki Sugiura
Beat butter and sugar; add eggs:

In a mixing bowl or the bowl of a mixer, beat butter with sugar on medium-high until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, scraping down sides of bowl.

Yuki Sugiura
Add vanilla, then chocolate mixture; reduce speed and add flour and sour cream in two additions:

Beat in vanilla, then chocolate mixture. Reduce speed to low; beat in flour mixture in two additions, alternating with sour cream, until just combined.
Divide batter between pans:

Divide batter evenly between prepared pans, smoothing tops with an offset spatula. Bake until a tester inserted in centers comes out with moist crumbs attached, 35 to 40 minutes.

Yuki Sugiura
Cool and trim cakes:

Let cakes cool in pans on a wire rack 20 minutes. Turn out onto rack, top-sides up; let cool completely. With a serrated knife, trim tops of cakes so they're level.

Yuki Sugiura

Be sure to let the cakes cool before leveling. They will be more inclined to tear and shed crumbs if cut while warm.
Line the edges of a cake stand or plate with strips of parchment. Place one cake layer on stand, trimmed-side up, and spread 1 1/2 cups buttercream evenly over top. Top with remaining cake layer, trimmed-side down.

Yuki Sugiura
Spread a thin layer of buttercream over top and sides. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes (this ensures a crumb-free finish). Spread remaining frosting evenly over top and sides. Cake can be stored in refrigerator up to 1 day; bring to room temperature before serving.

Yuki Sugiura

Slicing Devil's Food Cake

sliced devils food cake pieces — Yuki Sugiura

The best way to cut even slices of your devil's food cake is to use a serrated knife.

Frosting Variations

Just as with the cake recipe, there is no single standard frosting for a devil's food cake.

We generally use our chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream—which touts the same balance of taste and texture and pairs nicely with this cake.
If you prefer a sweeter, fluffier frosting, try the cloud-like Seven-Minute Frosting, which is often paired with devil's food cakes.
For a purely chocolate finish, go for our Whipped Chocolate Ganache.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is it called devil’s food cake?

There is no definitive answer about why this cake is called devil’s food cake. It may have gotten its name because foods that were "deviled" were considered spicy or rich and sinfully tempting, like deviled eggs or deviled ham. Another theory is that the cake was named to emphasize its deep, dark chocolate flavors—the polar opposite of light, fluffy angel food cake.
How is devil’s food cake different from chocolate cake?

Devil’s food cake is a type of chocolate cake. There are many different types of chocolate cakes, so it’s hard to define exactly how devil’s food cake is different from all chocolate cakes. Generally speaking, devil’s food cake is a darker type of chocolate cake with a deeper flavor than most other chocolate cakes. Also, it is usually made as a layer cake, not as a loaf or sheet cake.
What's the difference between red velvet and devil's food cake?

Both red velvet cake and devil’s food cake are chocolate cakes, and both use cocoa for their chocolate flavor—but there are differences. Red velvet cakes generally use natural cocoa and contain both buttermilk and vinegar. When the buttermilk and vinegar are combined with unprocessed cocoa, it produces a red tint and makes for a tighter crumb texture and a tangier flavor than the darker, and more chocolaty devil’s food cake. Today, red food coloring is often used to enhance the red tones in red velvet cake.