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Devil's food cake is a moist, rich chocolate
Devil's food cake traditionally uses unsweetened chocolate baking squares in lieu of unsweetened cocoa powder. However, contemporary recipes typically use cocoa powder for its convenience over the more traditional chocolate baking squares. Also, because of its reduced amount of cocoa butter, cocoa powder has a more intense chocolate flavor than unsweetened chocolate. Moreover, coffee is frequently added as a liquid to enhance the chocolate flavor. Some recipes use hot or boiling water as the cake's main liquid, rather than milk. Its antithetical counterpart, the
History of cakes, including Devil's Food Cake
@
layer cake
A layer cake (US English) or sandwich cake (UK English) is a cake consisting of multiple stacked sheets of cake, held together by frosting or another type of filling, such as jam or other preserves. Most cake recipes can be adapted for lay ...
. It is considered a counterpart to the white or yellow angel food cake
Angel food cake, or angel cake, is a type of sponge cake made with egg whites, flour, and sugar. A whipping agent, such as cream of tartar, is commonly added. It differs from other cakes because it uses no butter. Its aerated texture comes fro ...
. Because of differing recipes and changing ingredient availability over the 20th century, it is difficult to precisely qualify what distinguishes devil's food from the more standard chocolate cake
Chocolate cake or chocolate gâteau (from ) is a cake flavored with melted chocolate, cocoa powder, or both.
History
Chocolate cake is made with chocolate. It can also include other ingredients. These include fudge, vanilla creme, and other ...
. However, it traditionally has more chocolate than a regular chocolate cake, making it darker in colour and with a heavier texture. The cake is usually paired with a rich chocolate frosting.
Devil's food cake was invented in the United States in the early twentieth century, with the recipe in print as early as 1905.
Ingredients
Devil's food cake traditionally uses unsweetened chocolate baking squares in lieu of unsweetened cocoa powder. However, contemporary recipes typically use cocoa powder for its convenience over the more traditional chocolate baking squares. Also, because of its reduced amount of cocoa butter, cocoa powder has a more intense chocolate flavor than unsweetened chocolate. Moreover, coffee is frequently added as a liquid to enhance the chocolate flavor. Some recipes use hot or boiling water as the cake's main liquid, rather than milk. Its antithetical counterpart, the angel food cake
Angel food cake, or angel cake, is a type of sponge cake made with egg whites, flour, and sugar. A whipping agent, such as cream of tartar, is commonly added. It differs from other cakes because it uses no butter. Its aerated texture comes fro ...
, is a very light white cake that uses stiffly beaten egg whites and no dairy.
Devil's food cake is sometimes distinguished from other chocolate cakes by the use of additional baking soda
Sodium bicarbonate (IUPAC name: sodium hydrogencarbonate), commonly known as baking soda or bicarbonate of soda, is a chemical compound with the formula NaHCO3. It is a salt composed of a sodium cation ( Na+) and a bicarbonate anion ( HCO3−) ...
(sodium bicarbonate), which raises the pH level and makes the cake a deeper and darker mahogany color. Devil's food cake incorporates butter
Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condiment ...
(or a substitute), flour, and less egg than other chocolate cakes.
See also
*Angel food cake
Angel food cake, or angel cake, is a type of sponge cake made with egg whites, flour, and sugar. A whipping agent, such as cream of tartar, is commonly added. It differs from other cakes because it uses no butter. Its aerated texture comes fro ...
* List of desserts
A dessert is typically the sweet course that, after the entrée and main course, concludes a meal in the culture of many countries, particularly Western culture. The course usually consists of sweet foods, but may include other items. The word ...
* Mississippi mud pie
Mississippi mud pie is a chocolate-based dessert pie that is likely to have originated in the U.S. state of Mississippi, hence the name. It contains a gooey chocolate sauce, brownie and chocolate custard on top of a crumbly chocolate crust. It ...
* Red velvet cake
Red velvet cake is traditionally a red, red-brown, crimson, or scarlet-colored layer cake, layered with ermine icing. Traditional recipes do not use food coloring, with the red color due to non- Dutched, anthocyanin-rich cocoa.
Common ingredi ...
References
External links
History of cakes, including Devil's Food Cake
@
The Food Timeline
Lynne Olver (1958–2015) was a librarian and food historian, and the sole author of the Food Timeline website.
Personal life
Olver graduated from the University of Albany (SUNY). She was a librarian at the Morris County Library, New Jersey, ...
{{Chocolate desserts
Chocolate desserts
American cakes
Layer cakes
Chocolate cakes