Devil’s Food Cake Better Than a Box

The original recipe for this delicious cake can be found here. I converted the ingredients into volume measures for convenience and cut the recipe in half because I really don’t need to eat 24 pieces even if it is my birthday. (Don’t sue me, Alton!) The frosting will taste too sweet on its own (well, it did to me), but it is the perfect complement to the devil’s food cake.

The Cake

Preheat the oven to 325 and spray a 8 X 8 pan.

Heat to boiling:

1/2 c. water

Remove from the heat and stir in:

1/2 c. Dutch process cocoa powder (Regular cocoa does not give as chocolaty of a flavor.)

If you’re wondering why the heck you just did this step, read this article.

Set the cocoa and water mixture aside and mix together in a bowl:

1 c. brown sugar

1 c. cake flour (Remove 2 T. of flour and use 2 T. cornstarch to approximate this.)

1/2 t. baking powder

1/8 t. salt

Mix into the cooled cocoa/water mixture:

1/2 c. oil

1/4 c. sour cream

1 egg

1 egg yolk

Slowly add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and beat on low until smooth. Pour the batter into the pan and bake at 325 for 30-35 minutes. Mine was done at about 32.

The Frosting

While the cake is cooling, make the frosting by beating together:

5 1/2 T. butter

1/2 T. mayo

Then, add and beat:

1/4 c. melted semi-sweet chocolate chips

Add in thirds and beat until fluffy, scraping down the sides as needed:

1 c. powdered sugar

Frost the devil’s food cake when it is completely cool and enjoy the chocolaty goodness.