Authentic Devil's Food Cake Recipe United States of America, North America

Start by preheating the oven to 180°/350°F and butter two 8-inch (20 cm) round tins. In a bowl, combine cocoa and dark muscovado sugar, pour boiling water over it, and mix well to dissolve. Combine flour, bicarb, and soda in a different bowl.

Proceed by creaming the butter together with the sugar until light. While continuously mixing, trickle in the vanilla extract, add one egg, and follow that with a scoopful of the flour mixture and the second egg. Make sure everything is blended, and then add the remaining flour mixture. Lastly, pour in the liquid cocoa mixture.

Once all is well incorporated, divide the batter between the two prepared tins and bake for 30 minutes or until the cake tester comes out clean. When baked, leave the tins on a wire rack for 5-10 minutes, then turn them out to cool.

While the cake is baking, make the frosting. Combine muscovado sugar, water, and butter in a pan and melt them over low heat. As the mixture begins to bubble, take off the heat, add the chopped chocolate, and stir, making sure it’s been thoroughly coated. Leave to melt for a minute and whisk, so it’s smooth and shiny.

For the next hour, occasionally whisk the frosting, and when both the cake and the frosting have cooled, assemble the cake. Place one cake right side down, coat with one-third of frosting, cover with the second cake right side up and coat the top and the sides.