For the ultimate indulgence, look no further than This Devil’s Food Cake with Ganache Frosting—it’s Guaranteed to disappear as soon as it’s sliced!
Finding a really good chocolate cake recipe can be tough, kind of like looking for the best brownie recipe. It can be disappointing to think you’ve found the perfect one, but it’s not as good as you hoped. This classic Devil’s Food cake recipe is a game changer. It wins over everyone at parties and celebrations, rarely leaving a slice left over.
Making this is easy! You just need one bowl and a few basic ingredients. This cake is super chocolatey, soft, and moist, with just the right amount of sweetness. The luxurious ganache frosting makes it the dream cake for anyone who loves chocolate.
Why This Recipe Works
- The superfine sugar dissolves quickly into the cake batter and helps keep the cake moist.
- The brown sugar gives a richer taste and creates a moister, tender cake.
- Adding coffee to the mix makes the chocolate flavor richer and more intense.
- Combining melted butter and vegetable oil produces a lighter, moist cake without losing the buttery flavor.
Fun Fact
The rich red color of Devil’s Food Cake comes from a chemical reaction between the baking soda and cocoa powder during baking.
Ingredient Notes
Flour: Use all-purpose or plain flour for best results.
Cocoa Powder: Choose high-quality cocoa powder for a rich flavor.
Coffee: Espresso powder or instant coffee granules enhance chocolate flavor without adding a coffee flavor.
Hot Water: Simply use hot water from the tap. This helps dissolve the cocoa powder and coffee. Hot, brewed coffee can be used for added richness.
Butter: Unsalted butter is preferred for control of the salt content.
Oil: Neutral-tasting vegetable oil helps keep the cake moist. Canola oil or melted coconut oil can be used as alternatives.
Sugar: Superfine sugar (AKA caster sugar) dissolves easier than regular sugar, resulting in a lighter cake texture. Granulated sugar can also be used.
Brown Sugar: Dark or light brown sugar can be used interchangeably based on personal preference.
Eggs: Use large eggs at room temperature.
Vanilla: Pure vanilla extract is recommended for the best flavor.
Baking Soda & Baking Powder: Be sure to check the date on the package to ensure freshness which gives the best rise.
Cream: Heavy cream or whipping cream with a high fat content is best for making a rich and creamy frosting.
Chocolate: Semisweet chocolate with at least 60% cocoa content is recommended for the frosting. Bittersweet chocolate can be used for a darker chocolate flavor or milk chocolate for a sweeter frosting.
Erren’s Top Tips
- Use room temperature ingredients. This helps them blend easier and rise higher when baking
- Line the bottoms with parchment paper before greasing and flouring to ensure your cakes come out of the pans easily.
- Always sift cocoa powder to remove lumps.
- Don’t overmix the batter once you add the flour mixture, as this can result in a tough cake.
- After adding the batter to the pan, run a knife through it in a zig-zag pattern to remove air bubbles.
- For an extra moist Devil’s Food Cake, brush the cooled cake layers with a simple syrup made from equal parts sugar and water before frosting.
- To check for doneness, lightly press the center of the cake – it should spring back when done.
- You can put the ganache in the fridge to speed things up, but be sure to stir often!
- To keep the cake fresh after slicing, cover the exposed cake with plastic wrap before placing it under a cake dome.
Storage & Freezing Instructions ❄
Store frosted cake in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days.
Freezing: Unfrosted cake layers can be tightly wrapped in plastic and aluminum foil and then frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before frosting and serving.
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Let’s Make Devil’s Food Cake
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1½ teaspoon instant coffee
- 1½ cup hot water
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1⅓ cup superfine sugar
- ¾ cup brown sugar packed
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 12 tablespoons butter (1½ sticks/¾ cup/168g), melted
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 eggs
For the frosting:
- 1 cup cream
- 8 ounces semisweet chocolate chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F/180 C.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder, instant coffee, and hot water. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, superfine sugar, brown sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
- Add the melted butter, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, eggs, and coffee mixture to the dry ingredients. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes or until smooth.
- Divide the batter evenly between two greased 8-inch/20cm round pans and bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Allow the cakes to cool in the pans on a wire rack for 5 to 10 minutes before turning them out to cool completely.
For the frosting:
- Heat the cream over medium heat until it simmers.
- Place the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Add the simmering cream and let it sit for 5 minutes or until the chocolate softens enough to whisk.
- Whisk the chocolate and cream until smooth and glossy.
- Let the frosting cool at room temperature, whisking occasionally to maintain its consistency.
- Once it reaches your desired thickness, it’s ready to use.
- Frost the cooled cakes by spreading half a cup of frosting on top of one cake layer and then placing the other layer on top (bottom side up). Use the remaining frosting to cover the sides and top of the cake. If the frosting is too soft, refrigerate the cake until it sets.
Tips + Notes
Nutrition Information:
Step By Step Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F/180 C. and grease 8″ pans.
Whisk together ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1½ teaspoons instant coffee, and 1½ cups hot water in a mixing bowl until well blended and dissolved into the water. Set the mixture aside.
In a large mixing bowl, mix together 2¼ cups all-purpose flour, 1⅓ cups superfine sugar, ¾ cups packed brown sugar, ¾ teaspoon salt, ¾ teaspoon baking powder, and ¾ teaspoon baking soda until well blended.
Add the cocoa powder mixture to the flour mixture with 3 large eggs, 1½ sticks melted butter, 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract.
Mix until blended. Be careful not to overmix, as overmixing cake batter can affect the texture and rise of your cake. Mix only until there is no visible dry flour.
Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans and smooth the tops.
Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Remove the cakes from the oven and let them cool in the pans for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely
To Make The Frosting
Heat one cup of cream over medium heat until it simmers with small bubbles around the edge of the pan (you don’t want it to boil).
Place the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl and add the simmering cream.
Let the hot cream sit with the chocolate for 5 minutes or until the chocolate softens enough to whisk. Then whisk until the mixture is fluid and the chocolate fully melts into the cream.
Let the mixture cool and thicken, occasionally stirring, until it reaches your desired thickness. You can allow it to cool in the refrigerator, but be sure to stir often to maintain a creamy consistency.
Frost the cooled cakes by spreading half a cup of frosting on top of one cake layer and then placing the other layer on top (bottom side up). Then, Use the remaining frosting to cover the rest of the cake, starting on the top of the cake and then spreading onto the sides.
If the frosting is too soft, refrigerate the cake until it sets. Then serve and enjoy.
Update Notes: This post was originally published on January 17, 2014, but was republished with new information in 2024.
Launa says
Did a trial run to test it out for Christmas, well it passed the test! Thank you so much, so glad I found your site
Erren's Kitchen says
I love to hear this, thank you for letting me know 🙂
Jane Butler says
Easy recipe. Tasted good. Disappointed as didn’t have an orange middle which is why I chose it. Any ideas what went wrong?
Erren's Kitchen says
Hi Jane, I’m glad you enjoyed it, the color of the cake might be due to the cocoa powder you used, other than that I really can’t help. I’m glad it tasted good anyway 🙂
Jane says
Do you use single or double cream?
Erren's Kitchen says
Hi Jane, double cream or whipping cream, I hope this helps
Sg says
Easy recipe to follow and I chopped and changed between the cup and metric measurements without any problems. I’m in the UK and the cake came out chocolatey and moist. I agree with previous comments in that the cakes do not rise to fill both 8in pans(they only fill halfway) as you’d expect and I didn’t overmix the batter. So I suppose if I wanted a taller layer cake, consider doubling the recipe.
Erren's Kitchen says
Hi, yes there are some differences with baking this cake in the UK and the US, I’m glad you enjoyed it anyway. Thank you so much for the feedback 🙂
JiaRose Neuenkirchen says
I haven’t made this yet so for now it’ll remain at 5 stars. Does the British version use pure natural non Dutch processed cocoa as well? I ask because the majority of UK cocoa powders are Dutch processed which severely changes it
Erren's Kitchen says
Hi, I use Callebaut for this recipe in the Uk and the US, it’s always better to use the best quality cocoa you can find. I hope this helps 🙂
Holly says
I just saw the negative reviews and have to say this is my go to chocolate cake recipe. I’ve been making it for years.
Erren Hart says
I’m so glad you enjoy the recipe so much! Thanks for taking the time to comment! 🥰
Lizzie says
I just wanted to make a comment, because I almost didn’t make this recipe due to the two previous poor reviews; however I took the risk and it worked out super well. The cake was really delicious and moist and baked just as you would expect it to. I’m in the UK too, so can confirm there isn’t a problem with the metric ingredients. Thanks for the great cake!
Erren's Kitchen says
Hi Lizzie, thank you so much for your feedback. I’m glad you liked the recipe and it worked! 🙂
Trois trefles says
This recipe was the second version of Devil’s Food Cake I have made, it was a winner!
Erren's Kitchen says
Thank you so much, I love to hear this! 🙂
Laurene Lambert says
I’m making this cake as we speak. First of all, I know realise that the guide in the beginning does not match the method listed below. In the first instructions there is no mention of the coffee/water/cocoa mix at all. Anyway what I have in front of me is a completely too runny mixture that barely fills an 8 inch pan. What a shame to make a recipe and waste people’s ingredients on this.
Erren's Kitchen says
I’m so sorry to hear this Laurene, I recently tested this recipe with the cups and metric and adjusted it. I’m not sure if this was a problem with the program that calculates the metric conversions. I’ve checked it again and sorted out the problem. Thank you for the feedback.
Laura says
Not for me. Unfortunately they came out flat and rubbery. Used the metric conversions (baked in the UK). I found the recipe hard to follow on mobile as the ingredients aren’t in the right order.
Erren's Kitchen says
Hi Laura, I’m sorry to hear this. I’ve tested this recipe in the UK and in the US and haven’t had this issue. Can I ask the size of the cake pans you used? Thank you for the feedback, I will look at this recipe and see how I can improve it 🙂