Devil’s Food Cake

Name: Devil’s Food Cake
Yield: makes one 3-layer 8-inch cake, one 2-layer 9-inch cake, or abour 3 dozen cupcakes
Ingredients: 3 cups all-purpose flour; 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder; 2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 2 cups sugar; 2 cups buttermilk; 1 1/3 cups vegetable or canola oil; 4 large eggs, at room temperature; 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

December 22, 2011

The base recipe for our chocolate cake is the easiest cake recipe I know. It’s an oil-based (as opposed to butter-based) recipe, so, just like boxed cake mixes, it can be mixed by hand in one bowl. For that reason, it is a favorite of mine to make at a vacation home or anywhere that I’m not sure about what mixers or baking equipment will be available. Once baked, this batter results in an airy, spongy cake with a rich chocolate flavor. It tends to rise a lot in the oven, especially in the center, so the cake layers will always have to be trimmed to make the layers flat before they are iced. Accordingly, be careful not to overfill the cake pans or cupcake wrappers.

Recipe notes

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