Devil's Food Cake

Okay, I admit it. I ate my weight in chocolate buttons while a waited for the cake to bake. The devil made me do it.


Devil's Food Cake
slightly adapted from Nigella Lawson's Kitchen

For the Cake:
50g cocoa powder
100g dark muscovado sugar
250ml boiling water
125g unsalted butter, softened plus extra for greasing the pans
150g golden caster sugar
225g plain flour (I used cake flour)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs, room temperature

For the Frosting:
125ml water
30g dark muscovado sugar
175g unsalted butter, cubed
300g dark chocolate buttons

Make the Cake:
Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease and line the base of two 20cm round cake pans with baking paper. Set aside.

In a medium size bowl, mix the cocoa powder, muscovado sugar and boiling water together until smooth. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and golden caster sugar for about 5 - 6 minutes until pale and creamy.

In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and baking soda together. Set aside.

Add the vanilla to the butter and sugar mixture. While the mixer is still running, add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture. Mix until just incorporated. Fold in the cocoa mixture.

Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pans and bake for 30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cakes comes out clean. Leave the cakes in the pans for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the Frosting:
Put the water, sugar and butter into a pan on low heat to melt.

Once melted, take it off the heat, add the chocolate, leave to stand for 2 minutes, then stir until smooth. Leave for 1 hour, mixing now and then, until it is a spreadable consistency.

Assemble the Cake:
Put one cake onto a cake plate, spread with about 1/3 of the frosting. Top with the second cake and spread the remaining frosting over the top and down the sides of the cake.