Devils Food Cake By Ruth Reichl Recipes

DEVIL'S FOOD CAKE

Steps:

• To make the frosting: Put the chocolate in a large heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate, move the bowl gently to let the cream settle. Set the mixture aside until softened, about 4 minutes. Whisk until smooth. Cover the surface of the frosting with plastic wrap. Set aside and let set up at room temperature, about 2 hours.
• To make the cake: Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter two 9-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with a circle of parchment or wax paper.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
• In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter at medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Increase the speed to medium-high and slowly add the sugar. Continue beating until light and smooth, about 4 minutes. Turn the mixer off and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the cocoa powder and vanilla and beat at medium speed for 1 minute more. (Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl again, if needed.) With the mixer running at medium-low speed, add the eggs, one at a time, beating for 1 minute between each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• Combine the water and milk in a saucepan and bring just to a boil. Remove from the heat.
• With the mixer at low speed, add the flour mixture, about a 1/4 cup at a time. Carefully pour the hot liquid into the batter. Remove the bowl from the mixer and, using a large rubber spatula, finish combining the batter until smooth. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Lightly drop each pan onto the counter to settle the batter.
• Set the pans on the middle rack in the oven. Bake until the cakes begin to pull away from the sides of the pans and the center springs back when touched lightly, about 30 to 35 minutes.
• Cool the cakes, in the pans, on a rack for 10 minutes. Turn the cake layers out of the pans and cool on the rack. (If not assembling the cake right away, wrap the layers in plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to 1 day, or freeze for up to 2 months.)
• Assemble the Devil's Food Cake. Place 1 cake layer upside-down on a cake stand or flat plate. Scoop about 1/3 of the icing onto the center of the layer. Using a large, offset spatula, spread the icing evenly over the layer to the edges. Place the other cake layer, rounded-side up, on top. Evenly spread half of the remaining icing over the top, spreading any excess icing down the sides. Spread the remaining icing around the sides of the cake. Use the tip of the offset spatula to make a swirling pattern in the icing. Serve. Store under a cake dome or loosely wrapped with plastic, at room temperature, for up to 2 days.
• Copyright 2001 Television Food Network, GP. All rights reserved

DEVIL'S FOOD CAKE BY RUTH REICHL

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Heat milk in small pan until bubbles begin to appear around edges. Remove from heat.
• Mix cocoa and white sugar together in a small bowl and slowly beat in warm milk. Let cool.
• Cream the butter with the brown sugar. Beat in the eggs, sour cream, and vanilla. Add cocoa mixture.
• Mix dry ingredients together and gently blend into butter mixture.
• Do not overheat.
• Turn into 2 well-greased and floured 9-inch layer cake pans, and bake 25 to 30 minutes, until cake shrinks slightly from sides of pans and springs back when touched gently in the center. Cool on a rack for a few minutes, then turn out onto rack.
• Wait until completely cool before frosting.
• Seven-minute Frosting.
• Combine egg whites, sugar, water, cream of tartar, and salt in top of double boiler. Set over simmering water and beat with an electric mixer for about 5 minutes, until soft peaks are formed. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Keep beating until frosting is stiff enough to spread. Use immediately. This looks like a lot, but use it all; it is enough to fill and frost the cake.

DEVIL'S FOOD CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit inside a 16-inch round cake pan and place inside. Grease the bottom and sides of the pan with butter. Dust with flour and tap out any excess. Set aside. Sift the flour, baking soda and salt into a bowl. Set aside. Combine the cocoa and the warm water in a medium sized bowl, whisk until smooth. In another medium sized bowl whisk the buttermilk, water and vanilla, set aside. Add the softened butter to the bowl of a standard mixer. Add the white sugar and the light brown sugar, beat with the paddle until very light in color and texture, about 3 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Break 4 eggs into a small bowl. On low speed, add 1 egg at a time to the bowl. Add the additional eggs only after each is well combined. Scrape the bowl with a spatula. Raise the speed to medium, beat 1-minute until light and fluffy. Add the cocoa mixture, beat on low speed until just combined. Add the flour mixture and the buttermilk mixture alternately: 3 additions of flour, 2 of the buttermilk. I do this visually, a little more than 1 cup of flour, then about 1 cup of the buttermilk mixture, then repeating. Remember to scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula after each addition. The batter will be smooth. Gently fold in the grated chocolate. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake in the center of the oven until done, about 45 minutes. Do not over bake, the cake will fall firm in the center. Cool. Turn the cake over onto your work surface. Peel off the parchment paper. Cut the cake in half horizontally with a serrated knife. Fill the cake with Chocolate Cream Filling. Top the cake with Thick and Rich Chocolate Glaze.
• Warm the heavy cream in a heavy stainless pot. Add the chopped chocolate and butter. Stir over low heat until the chocolate is almost melted. Take off the heat, and stir until smooth. Cool, then refrigerate until cold. Whip until light and fluffy. Place the bottom layer of the devil's food cake on a cardboard cake circle. Top with the cream filling. Place the other cake layer on top. Press down gently with your hands. Finish the cake with the Thick and Rich Chocolate Glaze.
• Warm with heavy cream, in a heavy stainless pot until warm. Add the chopped chocolate and the butter. Stir over low heat until the chocolate is almost melted. Take off the heat and stir until smooth. Cool slightly. Whisk and pour over the filled cake when it has slightly thickened. Smooth with a spatula. For a perfect finish, refrigerate the cake with one coat of glaze on top. When cold and set, add another portion of glaze and smooth nicely with a spatula. Make sure that the second coat of glaze has not hardened. If so, reheat only for a few seconds to the desired consistency.

1942 DEVIL'S FOOD CAKE

Steps:

• Butter two 9-inch round cake pans; line bottoms with parchment paper or waxed paper.
• Position a rack in the middle of the oven; preheat to 350°.
• Melt chocolate in a large heatproof bowl set over hot, but not simmering water; let cool.
• In a bowl, stir the flour, baking soda, and salt together; mix well.
• Add the butter to the chocolate, then pour in the boiling water; stir well to mix.
• Whisk in the sugar and sour cream.
• Stir in the flour mixture; whisk in the eggs.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pans; smooth the tops.
• Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until test done-toothpick comes out clean.
• Cool in pans on racks for 5 minutes; then unmold onto racks to finish cooling.
• **Recommend to frost with fluffy white frosting or whipped ganache.

RUTH REICHL'S GIANT CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter two large rectangular baking pans (13 by 9 by 2 inches) and line them with waxed or parchment paper. Butter the paper and dust the pans with cocoa (you could use flour, but cocoa adds color and flavor).
• Measure the cocoa powder into a bowl, and whisk in 1 1/2 cups of boiling water until it is smooth, dark and so glossy it reminds you of chocolate pudding. Whisk in the milk and vanilla. In another bowl, whisk the flour with the baking soda and 3/4 teaspoon salt.
• Put the butter into the bowl of a stand mixer and beat in the sugars until it is light, fluffy and the color of coffee with cream (about 5 minutes). One at a time, add the eggs, beating for about 20 seconds after each before adding the next. On low speed, beat in the flour mixture in 3 batches and the cocoa mixture in 2, alternating flour-cocoa-flour-cocoa-flour.
• Pour half of the batter into each pan and smooth the tops. Bake in the middle of the oven until a tester comes out clean, 25 to 35 minutes. Let the pans rest on cooling racks for 2 minutes, then turn the cakes onto racks to cool completely before frosting.
• Make the frosting: Chop the chocolate and melt it in a double boiler. Let it cool so that you can comfortably put your finger in it. While it's cooling, mix the butter with the whipped cream cheese. Add the chocolate, the vanilla and a dash of salt, and mix in the confectioners' sugar until it looks like frosting, at least 5 minutes. Assemble the cake, spreading about a third of the frosting on one of the cooled layers, then putting the second layer on top and frosting the assembled cake.

DEVIL'S FOOD CAKE I

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease and flour one 9x13 inch pan or two 9 inch round pans.
• In a small pan melt the butter or margarine with the unsweetened chocolate. Set aside to cool slightly.
• Cream together the sugar and the eggs until light in color. Add the chocolate mixture to the eggs and temper mixture by beating well (so you don't end up with scrambled eggs!) Add 1 cup boiled water (still warm) and blend well. Mixture will be very liquid.
• Mix together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add this mixture to the chocolate mixture and blend well.
• Mix together the vinegar and the milk and stir into the chocolate batter. Pour into prepared pan(s).
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cake divides well for filling with mousse, or ganache, or black forest fillings. The best clue to this cake being nearly done is that you will start to smell the aroma of chocolate filling your house!