The Devil Made Me Do It

Seriously, the devil did make me do it.  OK, maybe not.  I decided to make a devil’s food cake and frosting using a vintage recipe because my husband said that he had never had a cake baked from scratch.  Mind you, this is entirely untrue.  I have, on numerous occasions, baked chocolate cakes from scratch because he loves chocolate and because anything made from scratch tastes far better than anything that comes out of a box. 

When I was flipping through my 1942 edition of the Good Housekeeping Cook Book, I came upon the recipe for “Devil’s Food Cake” and there was no question that it was the only possible cake to bake right then.  My only problem was in deciding which frosting to make to go with it.  Good Hosekeeping suggested that the best choice of frosting to go with “Devil’s Food Cake” is “Egg Chocolate Frosting”.  This did not really feel like the right direction for me.  With the way eggs and chickens are cared for and processed today, I find that I am not very keen on making anything that involves the use of raw eggs – especially something that will sit out for however long it will take my husband to work his way through the cake.  In the end, I decided on the very simple and decadent “Rich Chocolate Butter Frosting”.  And I’ll tell you what, not only did I not get a single complaint about the cake or frosting, my husband declared that he will never eat a box cake again.  (Which is a funny thing for him to say since he does none of the baking!)

At any rate, I gathered up my ingredients and even made a special purchase of cake flour.  I probably could have made a go of it with a mixture of regular flour and cornstarch but anything worth doing is worth doing right.  Now that I have cake flour on hand, I suppose I have an excuse to make another cake for my husband eventually.  As with anything made from scratch, it did require a bit more effort but the payoff was definitely worth it.  I do not much care for chocolate but even I had to say that it was a devilishly good cake!

Devil’s Food Cake

Ingredients

·        ½ c shortening

·        1 c granulated sugar or 1 ¾ c firmly packed brown sugar

·        ½ c boiling water

·        2-oz unsweetened chocolate, melted

·        2 eggs, well-beaten

·        1 ½ c sifted cake flour

·        1 tsp baking soda

·        1 tsp baking powder

·        ½ tsp salt

·        ½ c buttermilk (or sour milk)

·        1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1.   Preheat oven to 350°F.

2.   Work shortening with a spoon until fluffy and creamy.

3.   Gradually add sugar and continue to work with a spoon until light.

4.   Combine boiling water and melted chocolate and stir until smooth the cool.

5.   Stir chocolate water into the shortening mixture.

6.   Add eggs and beat with a spoon until blended.

7.   Sift together dry ingredients and add alternately in thirds with combined milk and vanilla, beating well after each addition.

8.   Bake in a greased and floured 8” x 8” x 2” cake pan at 350°F for 50 – 60 minutes OR bake in 2 greased and floured 8” round layer cake pans at 350°F for 25 – 30 minutes.

9.   Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Rich Chocolate Butter Frosting

(Makes enough to generously frost a two – three layer cake)

Ingredients

·        ¼ c butter

·        3 c sifted confectioners’ sugar

·        3-oz unsweetened chocolate, melted

·        ¾ tsp vanilla extract

·        ¼ tsp salt

·        5 tbsp hot milk (You can add a bit more if your frosting is not quite creamy enough.)

Directions

1.   Work butter with a spoon or electric beater until fluffy and creamy.

2.   Add 1 ½ cups of sugar gradually while continuing to work with a spoon or beater.

3.   Beat in the chocolate then add the vanilla and salt.

4.   Add remaining 1 ½ cups of sugar alternately with the hot milk, adding a little more milk if necessary for spreading consistency.

5.   Spread evenly on cake.

Comment below with your favorite cake flavors!