Devils Food Chocolate Cake (Printer-Friendly)

An ultra-moist chocolate dessert featuring intense cocoa and silky, fluffy buttercream frosting.

# What You’ll Need:

→ Cake

01 - 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder
03 - 2 cups granulated sugar
04 - 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
05 - 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
06 - 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
07 - 2 large eggs, room temperature
08 - 1 cup whole milk, room temperature
09 - 1/2 cup vegetable oil
10 - 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
11 - 1 cup boiling water

→ Chocolate Frosting

12 - 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
13 - 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
14 - 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
15 - 1/2 cup whole milk, plus more as needed
16 - 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
17 - 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

# How to Make It:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and line two 9-inch round cake pans with parchment paper.
02 - Sift together flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
03 - Add eggs, milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract to dry ingredients. Mix on medium speed until just combined.
04 - Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually pour in boiling water. Stir until batter is smooth and thin.
05 - Divide batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake for 28 to 32 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
06 - Allow cakes to cool in pans for 10 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
07 - Beat softened butter on medium-high speed until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar and cocoa powder, beating until smooth.
08 - Add milk, vanilla extract, and salt. Beat until fluffy and spreadable, adding extra milk if necessary.
09 - Place one cake layer on a serving plate and spread with frosting. Top with second layer and frost the sides and top evenly.
10 - Cut into slices and serve immediately.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • The cake stays moist for days, which means you can make it ahead and actually enjoy your own party.
  • This frosting is forgiving—it beats up into something almost cloud-like, and a little extra milk fixes almost anything.
  • Two 9-inch layers look impressive on the plate but bake faster than a single deep cake, so you're done in under an hour.
02 -
  • Room temperature ingredients are not optional—cold eggs and milk won't emulsify into the batter, and you'll end up with a grainy, broken-looking batter that never comes together.
  • That thin batter is doing exactly what it should; don't panic and add more flour thinking something went wrong, because the boiling water is supposed to make it pourable.
  • Frosting lumps are a sign the powdered sugar wasn't sifted, or the cocoa powder was added too fast and clumped—fixing it means beating longer or pushing it through a fine sieve.
03 -
  • Weigh your ingredients if you can; baking is forgiving about many things but not about proportions, and a kitchen scale takes the guesswork out of 'how packed is that measuring cup.'
  • The offset spatula is worth buying—an ordinary knife will drag the frosting and collapse the layers, but an offset spatula glides across the cake like it's made for this moment.
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