![Chocolate Layer Cake](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2023/10/27/multimedia/27cakerex-plzm/27cakerex-plzm-mediumThreeByTwo440.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
Devil’s Food Cake With Black Pepper Buttercream
![Devil’s Food Cake With Black Pepper Buttercream](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2014/04/30/multimedia/clark-devils-food-cake/clark-devils-food-cake-articleLarge.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
- Total Time
- 2½ hours
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- 10tablespoons/140 grams unsalted butter, softened, more for greasing pans
- ⅔cup/70 grams unsweetened natural (not Dutch-processed) cocoa powder, more for pans
- ¾cup/180 milliliters whole milk
- 2cups/200 grams cake flour
- 1½teaspoons/10 grams baking soda
- ½teaspoon/3 grams baking powder
- ½teaspoon/3 grams kosher salt, more as needed
- 1¾cups/350 grams granulated sugar
- 3large eggs
- 2teaspoons/10 milliliters vanilla extract
- 5large egg whites
- 1cup/200 grams granulated sugar
- Large pinch kosher salt
- 3sticks plus 2 tablespoons/365 grams unsalted butter, softened
- 1vanilla bean pod, split lengthwise, seeds scraped
- 1teaspoon/5 grams coarsely ground black pepper
- 1½cups/300 grams granulated sugar
- 1cup/240 milliliters heavy cream
- Pinch kosher salt
- 6ounces/170 grams unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 8tablespoons/112 grams unsalted butter, diced
- 2teaspoons/10 milliliters vanilla extract
For the Cake
For the Buttercream
For the Fudge Frosting
Preparation
- Step 1
Make the cake: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 3 8-inch round baking pans, line the bottoms of each with a round of parchment paper and grease the paper. Use a little cocoa powder to coat the insides of the pans, rotating pans so the cocoa comes up the sides, then tap out excess.
- Step 2
In a small bowl, whisk together cocoa powder and ⅔ cup boiling water. Whisk in milk. In a separate bowl, whisk together cake flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- Step 3
In a large mixing bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, until incorporated. Beat in vanilla. With the mixer running on low speed, beat in a third of the dry ingredients, followed by half the cocoa mixture. Add remaining portions, alternating between two mixtures. Beat until smooth.
- Step 4
Divide batter evenly among prepared pans. Bake until the centers of the cakes are firm to the touch, 30 to 40 minutes. Cool cakes in their pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes; turn them out onto the rack to cool completely. (Peel off parchment paper if it sticks to the cakes.)
- Step 5
Make the buttercream: Fill a medium pot halfway with water (or use a double-boiler) and bring to a simmer. In a heatproof bowl that fits over pot, whisk together egg whites, sugar and salt. Cook, whisking constantly, until the sugar dissolves and mixture reaches 140 degrees on a candy or instant-read thermometer, about 5 minutes.
- Step 6
Using an electric mixer, whip until completely cooled and thick, about 5 minutes. Beat in butter a little at a time, until the frosting is smooth and spreadable. Beat in vanilla bean seeds and pepper.
- Step 7
Using a serrated knife, slice each cake in half horizontally. Place one bottom layer on a large platter or cake stand. Top evenly with a thin layer of buttercream. Repeat, alternating between cake and frosting, ending with a layer of cake. Cover cake loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate while you prepare fudge frosting. (Cake can rest in the refrigerator for up to 1 day.)
- Step 8
Make the frosting: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, heavy cream and salt. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until sugar completely dissolves, about 5 minutes. Scrape mixture into a bowl. Stir in chocolate, butter and vanilla until smooth. Set bowl over a larger bowl filled with ice. Use a hand mixer or an immersion blender with the whisk attachment to whip until mixture is thick and cool, about 5 minutes. Spread frosting over the top and sides of the cake.
- Measurements for dry ingredients are given by weight for greater accuracy. The equivalent measurements by volume are approximate.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
This cake was a bit of work, but scrumptious, rich, chocolately. Do NOT forget the pepper. Kicks it up a notch. My father always said, life is short, eat dessert first. The frosting, the filling, and a few crumbs of the cake were the last food he ate before dying last year. He loved it. Worth the effort.
Yummy
What's glaringly missing in the instructions is a crucial step in making the buttercream. At first the mixture will curdle up and appear soupy. I threw out my first batch thinking I had messed up somewhere. But it did the same thing the second time. The critical trick is to turn the beater to the highest speed possible without spraying and beat the heck out of it. Miraculously the curdled up mess will come back together and you'll end up with beautiful buttercream!
Don't scrimp on the pepper. It's the icing on the cake...sorry....couldn't resist.
We loved this cake. As many reviews mentioned, this cake is a lot of work. When making the chocolate frosting- I am without an immersion blender or hand mixer. I put ice around the mixer bowl but it was still too loose. I put it in the freezer for about 15 min and that really helped it get to the proper consistency. A little more mixing and it was perfect for icing the cake.
I would definitely make this again.
For those of you who feel that this recipe requires too much butter the decision is a simple one. Just don't make it, or make it for someone you truly love on a special occasion & don't eat any yourself. No one would advocate eating it on a regular basis. The steps involved in making this cake make it a labor of love anyway. Definitely a "special occasion" cake.
I made this as a birthday cake for my husband. We both LOVED it! But it's way too much for two people oops. The combination of the choc icing and the buttercream really sealed the deal for me. A lot of work but beautiful and decadent and you'll feel so proud - I know my coworkers couldn't believe it was homemade when they got our leftovers!
Quick question: Recently it seems that most recipes no longer include nutrition info, just "email grocery list." I know this one would probably scare anyone off if that data was included, but, still, it would really be helpful to have this available again.
Disappointing -- average cake and average frosting. The pepper was interesting but didn't really make this cake recipe anything outstanding.
I can't see why it would have appeared "soupy" & 'curdled". Sounds like maybe the egg white mixture was still a little too warm causing the butter to melt. I have not made it yet but, do plan to so, I will keep your tip in mind. Thanks.
I added extra pepper for a more pronounced zing. Guests loved it. However, the zing wore off the day after my dinner party, after which this was simply a nice chocolate cake.
This cake is amazing. The cake itself is moist with a great texture, the fudge icing is now my default icing for other cakes-it's delicious. If you've never made a buttercream before, I'd recommend reading up a bit on it as there are a few techniques that will make the process go a lot smoother with great tips for adjustments if it starts going off the rails! Mine came out more butter chunky than creamy but was still good. The peppercorn is an unexpected and wonderful addition.
They probably mean 5ml, which is 1 tsp.
The chocolate frosting is AMAZING. The entire cake is really really great, though a lot of work. While I may not make the entire cake again for a long time, I will 100% be making the chocolate frosting again—I am looking for things to put this frosting on.
When I read the ingredients, I suspected the cake itself would be dry and I was, unfortunately, right. There's just not enough fat. However, the fudge icing and the buttercream filling were so good we ate it anyway. I remade a version of this with a moister cake recipe and a touch extra of black pepper and it was incredible.
How can I multiply this recipe to make a 10X15 inch sheet cake?
This has become my go to recipe for Devil’s Food cake. I just do a simpler frosting like Ermine or cream cheese frosting, leave the sides bare, and top with candied cumquats. I usually do two 9-inch layers. My mashup of Melissa Clark’s cake recipe and the frosting and candied cumquats from Claudia Fleming.
New Favorite!
This cake inclused many preparation but not too much technique. The cake can be prepared a day before and baked in a single pan instead of 3. Be sure that the butter is really soft for the buttercream, otherwise it will create some chuncks. The frosting is easy and absolutely delicious! Everyone loved thsi cake!
People are saying it's a LOT of cake. We bake cakes regularly for the two us. We carefully portion, wrap, and freeze the cake into 3 quarters (eat the first quarter). Lasts for a few months easily. Defrosts in an hour.
first time making a devil's food cake and a meringue buttercream. If you like eating straight butter, this buttercream is for you - in hindsight I would have preferred more fudge instead. I had thin cake pans so didn't need to cut the layers - 15 minutes was plenty, probably should have started with 10 because the cake is a bit dry. I cut the sugar everywhere by 50% - this was good for the fudge but perhaps 25-30% would be better for the buttercream & cake (others said 50% was good)
The idea of this cake is great. Less so the specifics. The problem is that I can do a better job on each of the three individual components with other recipes I have used before. The cake itself comes out too dry for my taste. I plan to use a moister chocolate cake recipe next time. I prefer a more tangy chocolate icing recipe that uses sour cream in the base, and the buttercream recipe here is simply too sweet for my taste. But I loved the vanilla bean and pepper idea. I’ll use that again.
This was a big hit at our party, with the pepper being a highlight. Yes, it is a project cake. But I spread it out over 3 days. And yes, buttercream can be tricky. But I have been working on it. And I have made layers before. At my baking level, I had no problems with Melissa’s fabulous recipe. Highly recommend.
In response to those who get a “curdled” outcome. It’s a science-y temperature issue. If ALL ingredients are at room temperature it will come together. Usually it’s the combo of soft butter and a colder liquid. Beating longer allows for temperature equilibration. Baking is biochemistry!
so good i love this cake but a little bit more frosting then i thot
My husband's birthday cake! We are at 10,142 feet, so followed the recipe exactly except for high altitude adjustments from CSU's Cooperative Extension. Instead of baking it in 3 pans and splitting the layers, I baked it in 4 pans at higher temp for less time (high altitude instructions) and made 4 layers. It was fabulous! I had never made buttercream or fudge frosting using these methods and was skeptical, but they worked beautifully. I will add more pepper to the buttercream next time.
Quite the showstopper! My cake ended up looking just like the photos, which is an accomplishment for me. The buttercream wasn't as tricky as I feared, but I wonder if that has anything to do with the temperature of my kitchen. I made this cake on a cold, rainy, October weekend, and it came together quite easily. That, or beginner's luck. Overall: Recommended.
Used 9 in pans and it yielded 3 very skinny layers—cake had good height with the buttercream. The fudge frosting was great. Give yourself a good 1-1.5 hours to let frostings warm up if you do them ahead. Hair dryer on the mixing bowl helped me not cry over cold broken buttercream and whip it back up!
I made this as a 6 in cake, cutting, the recipe by one third. I took Melissa Clark's advice and made the cake over a series of evenings after work, starting with the filling and icing. My immersion blender was not up to the chocolate icing challenge, but after refrigeration the icing whipped up well in my standing mixer. The cake was gorgeous and delicious. It was a wonderfully rich and delicate (not at all dry) birthday cake for my daughter's birthday.
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