Devils' Food Cake with Fluffy White Icing

By nlhartman

Devil's Food cake is an American classic. Using brown sugar makes the cake super-moist and boosts the chocolate flavor. Prepare two-9-inch round layer pans, 2 inches deep, buttered and the bottoms line with a disk of parchment paper cut to fit.

Ingredients

• Cake batter:
• 1 3/4 c. flour
• 1 t. baking soda
• 1/4 t. salt
• 8 T. (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/1 /4 c. dark brown sugar, firmly packed
• 2 t. vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 3 oz. unsweetend chocolate, melted and cooled
• 3/4 c. milk or buttermilk
• Fluffy white icing:
• 4 egg whites
• Large pinch salt
• 1 1/4 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. light corn syrup

Details

Servings 12
Preparation time 20mins
Cooking time 50mins

Preparation

Step 1

Set a rack in the middle level of the oven and preheat to 350.
Combine the flour, baking soda and salt, and stir well to mix. Combine the butter, brown sugar and vanilla in the bowl of an eletric mixer. Beat with the paddle on medium speed until lightend in color and texture, about 3 or 4 minutes.
Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the cooled chocolate. Decrease the mixer speed to lowest and add a third of the flour mixture. Stop and scapre the bowl and beater.
Beat in half the milk, and stop and scrape the bowl and beater. Repeat with another one-third of the flour and the remaining milk. Stop and scrape. Beat in the remaining flour mixture.
Increase the speed to medium and beat the batter continously for 3 minutes. Divide the batter equally between the prepared pans and smooth the tops.
Bake the layers until they are well risen and feel firm when pressed in the center with a fingertip, about 25-3o minutes.

Cool in the pans on racks for 5 minutes, then unmold, turn right side up again and cool completely.

To make the icing:

Half fill a saucepan with water and bring to a boild over medium heat. Combine the eggwhites, salt, sugar and corn syrup in the bowl of an electric mixer, and whisk by hand, just to mix together.

Regulate the heat under the pan of water so that it boils gently and place the bowl on the pan(to create a double boiler). Whisk gently just keep the mixture moving until it is hot(about 140 degress)and all the sugar is dissolved. Place the bowl on the mixer with the whisk and whip th eicing until it has cooled and become white and fluffy.

Peel off the paper and put one of the cake layers right side up on a cake cardboard or platter. Spoon a little less than half the icing on the layer and spread to the edge(used a mdeium metal offset spatula).

Invert the second layer on the icing(the smooth bottom of the layer is now uppermost)and gently press the layer into the icing; peel off the paper. Spread the entire outside of the cake with the remaining icing, using the point of the spatula to swirl it all over, as oppoesed to spreading it straight and flat.

To serve: Cut wedges of the cake at the table, using a long, thin-bladed knife. The icing is sticky, so wipe the knife with a wet cloth every time you cut through the cake to avoid tracking crumbs into it.

To store: Keep the cake under a cake dome at room temperature--plast wrap or foil will stick to the icing and pull it off the cake.