The dark equivalent of angel's food is yet another recipe created in the USA during the 19th century. Eating this cake was a (delightful) sin. The ultimate sweet treat for chocolate lovers, it used twice as much chocolate as any other cake.
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| 1919 advertisement of BakersCocoa |
Not surprisingly, devil's food became a great success with American housewives. A. C. Vangalder's Modern Women of America Cookbook (1913) featured no less than 23 recipes - from all over the country. All except one used melted or grated chocolate, most depended on brown sugar for extra richness, a few were lightened with meringue. Some of the cakes were baked in one piece, others arranged in layers and stuffed with chocolate frosting; many were topped with chocolate as well.
For today's post, I chose to adapt the only recipe in the book that uses cocoa: "Devil's Food Cake. One cupful sugar, one-half cupful sweet milk, one teaspoonful baking powder, one-half cupful butter, two eggs, two and one-half cupfuls flour. Mix well and then add: five tablespoonfuls sugar, one-half cupful boiling water. Mix this separate. Six teaspoonfuls cocoa. Let cool and then mix all together. Filling: one cupful sugar, one tablespoonful chocolate, one-half cupful sweet cream, one tablespoon butter. Let boil and then spread. - Mrs. Tillie Newly, Franklin, Ill."
DEVIL'S FOOD
This recipe uses brown sugar, fresh milk (='sweet' milk, not to be confused with buttermilk that's sour), and cocoa powder.
I n g r e d i e n t s
225g dark muscovado sugar
225g butter
4 large eggs
150ml fresh milk
4tbsp cocoa powder
4tbsp granulated sugar
4tbsp water
450g plain flour
4tbsp baking powder
M e t h o d
1. Preheat the oven to 175C. Grease a (Bundt) cake tin. 2. Beat the muscovado with the butter until light and fluffy, gradually adding the eggs and milk. 3. Heat the cocoa, sugar and water in a pan until bubbling. Combine with the rest of the ingredients. 4. Sift the flour with the baking powder, then mix into the batter. 5. Pour into the cake tin and bake for an hour or so. 6. Cool on a wire rack.
V a r i a t i o n
Bake the cake in a square tin. Make a filling with 200g granulated sugar, 2tbsp grated chocolate, 200g double cream, and 2tbsp butter that you will place in a double-boiler and stir until all ingredients are combined. Remove when the mixture bubbles and leave to stand for 5 minutes. Slice the cake lengthwise, and fill.
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