Why Is Devil’s Food Cake One Of The Greatest Chocolate Cakes?
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On May 19th we celebrate National Devil’s Food Cake Day, perhaps our favorite type of chocolate layer cake. This tasty article shares: > How is Devil’s Food Cake different from other chocolate cakes? > The history of Devil’s Food Cake. > The top 12 iconic chocolate cakes from the U.S. and Europe. Plus, links to: > The history of cake and a photo glossary parade of cakes. > The 55 cake holidays in the U.S.A. A specific combination of characteristics give Devil’s Food Cake (photos #1 and #2) its specialness. Angel Food Cake had been around for three decades when Devil’s Food Cake debuted at the turn of the 20th century. It was developed as a richer, more indulgent chocolate cake and named as a contrast to the lovely but lean Angel Food Cake. The contrasting names reflect their opposite characteristics. The cake was created during a time when cocoa powder was becoming more accessible to average American households, thanks to improved processing methods developed in the late 19th century (the history of cocoa powder). Cocoa powder imparts a more intense and concentrated chocolate flavor than chocolate, often leading to a richer and darker cake. It also influences the texture, delivering a moister and more tender crumb. Mrs. Rorer’s recipe used chocolate and had a less intense chocolate flavor than cocoa-powder-centric modern versions, but it established the name and concept. She also used boiled icing (photo #11 and footnote*), rather than the chocolate frosting and ganache that have since replaced it. The name itself seems to have been deliberately created (presumably by Mrs. Rorer) as a counterpoint to the already popular Angel Food Cake, which had been around since the 1870s. Food historians have uncovered pre-1902 recipes for chocolate cakes with similar ingredients, but they weren’t specifically called Devil’s Food Cake. Around the same time as the cookbook was published, Devil’s Food recipes began appearing in women’s magazines and community cookbooks across America. Within a couple of years (1905-1906), the cake had gained significant traction. By the 1920s, it was firmly established in the repertoire of American cakes. Original recipes often used melted chocolate rather than cocoa powder. Over the decades, home economists at companies like General Mills and Pillsbury refined recipes to work reliably with their flours and other ingredients to generate consumer excitement. Betty Crocker Devil’s Food Cake Mix was introduced in 1956, helping to standardize what Americans expected Devil’s Food Cake to taste like—and making it easy to bake one any time. Devil’s Food became a popular birthday cake choice (it certainly was ours!), and a featured dessert at restaurants across America. It became a classic American dessert. Recipes have adapted to different dietary interests: gluten-free versions using almond flour, alternative sweeteners, plant-based egg substitutes, and alternative fats instead of butter (avocado oil, coconut oil, olive oil). Connoisseurs have sought more complex chocolate flavors, using single-origin cacao and higher-percentage cacaco chocolate. Some bakers add miso or tahini can for an umami hit that complements the chocolate flavor profile. Flavor enhancements have turned the traditional hint of coffee into pronounced espresso; or added spices (cardamom, chile, cinnamon) or finishing salt (sea salt, smoked salt). Alcohol has been worked into recipes, from spirits (Bourbon, rum, Tequila) to liqueur (Amaretto, Grand Marnier, Kahlúa), to red wine. Some replace the traditional chocolate filling with trending flavors like lavender, matcha, and salted caramel—and even mousse and black cherry (shades of Mousse Cake and Black Forest Cake!). Similarly, the chocolate frosting has been replaced with other flavors. (Personally, we replaced the chocolate frosting with shiny chocolate ganache or glaze a decade ago.) Finally, there’s the fun of added crunch. But that’s food for another article. What are the must-try chocolate cakes in addition to Devil’s Food Cake? For this selection, the cake itself has to be chocolate, not a yellow cake with chocolate filling/icing such as Dobos(h) Torte, Opera Cake, and Smith Island Cake. American Classics *Boiled icing, also called boiled frosting or Italian meringue, is a cake frosting made by slowly pouring hot sugar syrup over stiffly beaten egg whites. This creates a fluffy, silky, and stable frosting (photo #11). It’s also called 7-minute frosting due to its quick preparation time. > The difference between frosting, icing, and glaze. †Is lava cake American or French? It’s complicated! The cake called lava cake, molten chocolate cake, or molten lava cake was introduced to America by Jean-Georges Vongerichten, the famous French-American chef who claims to have invented it in 1987 at his New York City restaurant JoJo. He explained that he accidentally undercooked some chocolate sponge cakes, and when he cut into them, they had a liquid center. He refined his “mistake” into a wildly popular international hit. However, in 1981 Michel Bras, another world-famous French chef whose restaurant Laguiole in southern France has received three Michelin stars since 1999, had created a similar dessert in 1981 called coulant au chocolat (“flowing chocolate). It featured a ganache center that would melt when the cake was heated. Jacques Torres, the renowned French pastry chef, maintains that the lava cake is simply a new presentation of fondant au chocolat, a classic French dessert that has existed for much longer. Fondant au chocolat (“chocolate fondant”) dates to the 1950s or earlier. It’s a dense, moist chocolate cake with a soft, almost fudge-like interior—though not necessarily molten. The word fondant in French means melting or melt-in-the-mouth, but this refers to the soft texture and not a runny center. But outside of France, some restaurants and recipes misuse the term to describe lava cakes. Regardless of who deserves credit for the original invention, lava cake became extremely popular in the 1990s and early 2000s, spreading from high-end restaurants to chain restaurants and even frozen food sections of grocery stores. Today, it’s considered a classic chocolate dessert worldwide. As of this writing, all three chefs are still hard at work. Maybe a Zoom call to talk it out? The Nibble will be happy to moderate. ‡Alternatives to flour in flourless cake: Ground nuts are most common, but otheringredients can provide the structure in flourless cakes, starting with additional chocolate (or cocoa powder) and eggs (very rich!) or whipped egg whites (for the most classic result). Small amounts of arrowroot or cornstarch can also stabilize the cake’s texture. Ground seeds (pumpkin, sesame, sunflower) can replace ground nuts, as can desiccated coconut or coconut flour. Chickpea flour or black bean purée create dense, fudgy textures. Additional options include breadcrumbs, ground dried dates or other dried fruits, ground rolled oats, and seed butters (pumpkin, sesame/tahini, sunflower). |
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