Devil’s Food Cake
The Ultimate Birthday Cake
March 31st
My younger son’s 18th birthday was in March. And each year, it’s the same discussion of what kind of cake to have. Chocolate is a given, but how many layers? What kind of icing? My husband’s question is about the type of candles to use. Should we use the numbers, the relighting candles, or just regular ones?
From the picture above, you can see that I used regular candles. What you can’t see is how the wax sprayed the cake when they were blown out!
As for the number of layers, I decided on three. Why bother with only one layer? Two is too few, but four layers make the cake too tall and hard to cut. So, I settled on three.
Now the hard part. Which recipe? I decided to go with a tried-and-true recipe that I’ve made many times, a Devil’s Food Cake. It’s simple, fast, and delicious.
What exactly is a Devil’s Food Cake, and how do it get that name?
Devil’s Food Cake is said to be a chocolate version of an Angel’s Food Cake because of how light and fluffy it is and the fact that it is not overly sweet. Baking soda creates the light and fluffy effect, and unsweetened cocoa powder gives the cake the chocolate taste without making it too sweet or rich.
Unlike a German Chocolate Cake, which has to have a caramel filling or frosting with coconut and pecans, Devil’s Food Cake only refers to the cake itself. The frosting can be anything you desire. While a white icing would make a strikingly beautiful cake, this birthday cake, according to my son, had to have a chocolate frosting. A fluffy chocolate butter frosting was the only logical choice.
A little more history about these cakes. Angel’s Food Cake became popular in the late 1800s, Devil’s Food Cake in the early 1900s, and German Chocolate Cake around 1960.
Remember that this cake was for my son. My favorite birthday cake is Angel’s Food Cake with a Spiced Cranberry Sauce.
Email me your favorite birthday cake or tradition. I would love to hear your story.
As always, happy cooking and eating!