Devil's food cake

Devil's food cake is a moist, rich chocolate layer cake.

Because of differing recipes and changing ingredient availability over the 20th century, it is difficult to precisely qualify what distinguishes devil's food from the more standard chocolate cake. However, it traditionally has more chocolate than a regular chocolate cake, making it darker in color and with a heavier texture.

Devil's food cake was invented in the United States in the early 20th century.

Ingredients


Devil's food cake traditionally uses unsweetened chocolate baking squares in lieu of unsweetened cocoa powder. However, contemporary recipes typically use cocoa powder for its convenience over the more traditional chocolate baking squares. Also, because of its reduced amount of cocoa butter, cocoa powder has a more intense chocolate flavor than unsweetened chocolate. Moreover, coffee is frequently added as a liquid to enhance the chocolate flavor. Some recipes use hot or boiling water as the cake's main liquid, rather than milk. Its antithetical counterpart, the angel food cake, is a very light white cake that uses stiffly beaten egg whites and no dairy.

Devil's food cake is sometimes distinguished from other chocolate cakes by the use of additional baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), which raises the pH level and makes the cake a deeper and darker mahogany color. Devil's food cake incorporates butter (or a substitute), flour, and less egg than other chocolate cakes.

Presentation
The cake is often paired with a rich chocolate frosting.

History
Recipes for devil's food cakes appeared in two cookbooks published in 1902. Chocolate cake had become popular in the late 19th century, eventually leading toward development of devil's food cake.

The name probably had several sources of inspiration, including the culinary term deviled to describe flavorful foods like deviled eggs and the contrast of this dark, dense, flavorful cake with the light and airy angel food cake. The name has inspired humorous comments; one of the first printed recipes declares it to be "Fit for Angels", and another early recipe recommends topping it with divinity frosting.

The first commercial cake mix for devil's food cake was marketed by P. Duff and Sons, Inc. of Pennsylvania in the 1930s.