This vintage cake recipe draws inspiration from the Australian Women’s Weekly ‘100 Favourite CAKES’ cookbook published in 1972. Their Devil’s food cake is included in their ‘layer cakes’ section, which features an array of “layered beauties in all flavours”.
My Devil’s food cake is a super moist, yet light cake that actually tastes of chocolate. And, is so so easy to make.
The first Devil’s food cake was created in the late 1800s, when a cocoa paste was stirred into a traditional cake batter producing a moist chocolate crumb.
Over time, the recipe has endured and evolved. Today, Devil’s food cake owes its characteristic look, texture and flavour to a combination of Dutch processed cocoa, boiling water or coffee, and bicarbonate of soda (which reacts with the cocoa to create the cake’s characteristic dark colour).
This is only one of a range of vintage recipes on my website – many based on Women’s Weekly vintage cake recipes. Check out the full range of recipes here!
Ingredients
Devil’s food cake
170g (3/4 cup minus 2 tsp) unsalted butter
170g (3/4 cup minus 2 tsp) black coffee
43g (2 tbsp) Dutch-processed cocoa
85g (1/3 cup) dark chocolate
227g (1 cup plus 1 tbsp firmly packed) light brown sugar
7g (1/2 tbsp) vanilla extract
2g (1/2 tsp) flaky salt
150g (3 large) eggs, fridge cold
20g (1-2 large) egg yolks, fridge cold
127g (1/2 cup plus 1/3 cup) plain flour
7g (1/2 tbsp) baking soda
Dulcey ganache
190g (1 cup) dulcey chocolate (or good quality white chocolate), chopped
150ml (1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp) thickened cream (35% fat)
40g (2 tbsp) natural nut butter (I used hazelnut, but peanut or almond would also be delicious)
A few drops gel colour (optional)
Maraschino cherries in syrup
Method
- For the devil’s food cake, preheat oven to 180C (no fan). Using a pastry brush, thoroughly grease a 6-8-cup Bundt tin with softened (not melted) butter ensuring all crevices are thoroughly coated. Using a small sieve, lightly dust the Bundt with cocoa, tapping out excess. Place aside.
- Combine butter and coffee in a medium pan over low heat. Once melted, remove from heat. Using a whisk, mix in sifted cocoa and chocolate, followed by brown sugar, vanilla and salt. Then mix in eggs and yolks. Sift in flour and baking soda, and whisk to combine only until no flour streaks remain. Do not overmix.
- Immediately pour batter into pan. Bake 28-30 mins until toothpick comes out with a couple of moist crumbs. Cool in pan for 20-30 mins. Invert onto wire cake rack to completely cool before icing.
- For the dulcey ganache, place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. In a small pan bring the cream to simmering point. Pour hot cream over the chocolate and let it sit for 1 minute without stirring, then gently mix with a spatula until thick and glossy. Place a few tablespoons of ganache over the nut butter and stir until completely homogenized and there are no lumps. Add the nut mix into the ganache and mix again until completely combined. Add a few drops of gel colour. Cover with plastic wrap and place aside, at room temperature, until the cake is fully cooled.
- To decorate, using a spatula, generously cover the Bundt cake with ganache. Use the spatula or the back of a spoon spoon to add texture. Alternatively, position bundt on a wire rack positioned over a tray. Pour warm ganache over the cake, allowing the excess to drip off. Top with Maraschino cherries.
