Chocolate Devil's Food Cake #TheCakeSliceBakers

I heard someone say once that the test of a good traditional cook is their gravy.

It is a something of an equalizer: so simple that there is nowhere to hide mistakes, and really shows your skill (or lack thereof).

I think that chocolate cakes are kind of the same way. Sometimes, you don't really know what a recipe SHOULD taste like. Or you haven't had enough experience with similar confections to be able to compare apples to apples.

 But almost everyone can identify the qualities of a good chocolate cake. 

Moist, rich, not too sweet, tender.

Now, I've had (and made) bad gravy. But I can't really say that I've had a TRULY bad chocolate cake. Even if it is dry, gummy, underbaked or dense....it's still made of chocolate. But great chocolate cake is magical.

This is a good chocolate cake.

I think the keys to a really good chocolate cake recipe are 1) buttermilk and 2) oil.

Buttermilk adds a fantastic tenderness to the crumb from the added acid, and a little extra lift when it combines with the rising agent.

Don't get me wrong -- I love butter cakes. But they are best at room temperature. When they're on the colder side, they can seem dry because the butter in the sponge hardens. I don't notice it as much in other cakes, but this effect seems more pronounced in a chocolate cake. Using oil as the fat (instead of butter), keeps it tasting moist. 

This recipe is very similar to a favorite: Ina Garten's Beatty's Chocolate Cake. In fact, the ingredients are the same (though the proportions are different). I've made the Beatty's Cake a billion times, and it sinks every.single.time.

Zoe's cake didn't sink.

The recipe said it could be made as a two-layer round cake, or in a Pullman pan. I make a lot of round cakes, and thought a different shape would be fun. And I loved how it looks (and tastes) like a giant candy bar.

I love how the cake came together in one bowl. The frosting requires a little more effort--it's kind of a mix of a buttercream and ganache. A frost-nache. And it is riiiiiiiiich. Not for the "one-the-fence-about-chocolate" kind of person.

It was actually a little hard to use because it's so thick, but so tasty. 

The first couple of recipes from a cookbook are kind of like the first couple of dates with a new somebody. It's still kind of a trial and you aren't sure if it's going to work out or not. 

After making this Chocolate Devil's Food Cake, I think this relationship is going places :)

Each month The Cake Slice Bakers are offered a selection of cakes from the current book we are baking through. This year it is Zoë Bakes Cakes by Zoē François. We each choose one cake to bake, and then on the 20th - never before - we all post about our cake on our blogs. There are a few rules that we follow, but the most important ones are to have fun and enjoy baking & eating cakes!

Follow our Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest pages where you can find all of our cakes, as well as inspiration for many other cakes. You can also click on the links below to take you to each of our cakes. If you have a blog and are interested in joining The Cake Slice Bakers and baking along with us, please send an email to thecakeslicebakers at gmail dot com for more details.

The Cake Slice Bakers also have a new Facebook group called The Cake Slice Bakers and Friends. This group is perfect for those who do not have a blog but want to join in the fun and bake through this book.

It is a new year and a new book - Zoë Bakes Cakes - and our choices for February 2022 were ~

Chocolate Devils Food Cake

• All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• A Day in the Life on the Farm
• My Recipe Reviews
• A Little Bit of All Right
• Camille Cooks
• Amandie Bakes

Black Forest Cake
Karen's Kitchen Stories


Raspberry Charlotte Royale

• Note: No group members choose this cake to bake