Devil's Food Cake with Coconut Italian Meringue
The cake that will always be
This devil’s food cake is for true chocolate cake lovers. It has the purest taste of chocolate. It’s rich and decadent and not apologetic at all when it comes to be the sinful-lest cake among all other cakes. I used Dutch processed cocoa powder for that intense chocolate flavor and used both cake flour and all-purpose flour for a very light crumb and texture. A bit of buttermilk did wonders for the texture too, making it impossibly fluffy, even for a chocolate cake! If you are ready to experience a chocolate cake on it’s purest form, then this cake is totally for you!
Actually, this one was really for my husband as his birthday cake. He has always loved chocolate cakes in any form, but he loves the most pure and simple chocolate cakes where all the chocolate flavor is on the cake instead of an overly rich and sweet frosting. Mariana and I will always spent the day before baking a simple chocolate cake that daddy will wake up to, and that is a tradition that I’m sure wouldn't end, even if we end up not eating the cake the same day, as happened with this one here.
For the frosting, he loves meringue so much as well so putting the two together was totally perfection for him! I added coconut extract and shredded coconut to make it more flavorful. And you read it well, I didn’t make any meringue buttercream, I just made a simple Italian meringue to smear over this devil’s food cake! He got to wake up that morning to this cake, topped with a few candles and a few gifts behind it!
And the reality is that, even if all the elements here are pretty simple, the resulting cake looks luscious and decadent, perfect for a celebration where you get to blow candles, make wishes and people who love you will make it all about yourself that day, no matter where they are. I made it mini by using three 6” cake pans, but the recipe will be perfect for a standard 8” or 9” layered cake. I ended up using two small cakes so the third cake plus the mini cupcakes I made with the remaining batter are happily frozen waiting for late night cravings on any given night.
If you like rich chocolate cake in its more basic form, I think this combination is for you. You can use a chocolate ganache frosting or chocolate buttercream (even Nutella) to even things out with the rich cake. I think I would prefer it that way, but it wasn’t my birthday so I had nothing to say here, hehe! Below is a glance of the steps you need to do when baking this soft and fluffy devil’s food cake:
The process of making this devil’s food cake
Start by brewing a cup of coffee. I made a double espresso, which is a bit more of ½ cup of a very strong coffee and then filled the measuring cup with water until I got one cup of liquid. It should be hot when you put it over the batter so I like to give it 20 to 25 seconds on the microwave right before pouring over.
As mentioned earlier, even though I used three 6” cake pans, this is a full recipe for a more standard size cake. I divided the batter in the three pans and filled my mini muffins pan wells with the remaining batter (just one tablespoon per well). You may use two 8” or 9” cake pans. Decrease baking time by 3 to 5 minutes if using the 8” or 9” pan.
I used a mixture of all-purpose and cake flours for a super soft and fluffy cake. If you don’t have cake flour at home, just use all-purpose flour instead.
I also used sour cream mixed with some buttermilk, just because I love using buttermilk in cakes for that tang it leaves. If you don’t have any or just don’t use it that much to buy a bottle, just use a whole cup of sour cream. Mix sour cream and buttermilk in a measuring cup with the oil and set aside for when you are ready to use.
Start preparing your batter by sifting the dry ingredients and beating butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla together. Add the flour mixture in three additions, intercalating with the sour cream-oil mixture. Pour the coffee over and mix by hand until well combined.
Baking times will vary depending on the cake pan you are using. My cakes baked in about 35 minutes, but if you are baking in a 8” or 9” pan they will bake in about 45 minutes. Let them cool down completely before frosting. I like to place them in the fridge for 20 minutes to speed up this process. Also, it’s way easier to slice the cake if it’s chilled. A cake too warm will crumble.
You can use the remaining egg white from the recipe plus a second one for the Italian meringue. If making the meringue right away, set the egg white aside for when you are ready to whip it up. If making the meringue the next day, pour the egg white in a plastic freezer bag and freeze it until you are ready to use it. Thaw in a bowl with hot tap water.
In the steps below I recommend you to make a crumb coat so the meringue stays always pretty and white. In case you don’t know what a crumb coat is, it’s basically a primer for your cake to prevent tiny cake crumbs from mixing with the frosting and making it look dirty. What you do is to spread a thin amount of frosting over the top and sides of the cake, always on the same direction and wiping or scraping on a bowl the meringue sticked to the utensil you are using. You will chill the cake to harden the frosting so the crumbs will stay stuck to it and then you can lusciously spread all the frosting you want!
Hope this cake makes an appearance in your kitchen. It’s very different from other cakes but I think that was a very nice surprise. If you love a good rich simple chocolate cake, you need to bake this one soon! And would you give the Italian meringue a try for this?
(Remember to leave your email when you make a comment to receive a notification as soon as I get back to you. Don’t worry, this will not add your email to my email list.)
Devil’s Food Cake with Coconut Italian Meringue
Ingredients
Devil’s Food Cake
◯ Vegetable oil - ⅓ cup
◯ Buttermilk - ¼ cup (if you don’t have any omit it and use a whole cup of sour cream instead
◯ Sour cream, full fat - ¾ cup
◯ Unbleached all-purpose flour - 1 ½ cup (180g)
◯ Cake flour - ¾ cup (90g)
◯ Dutch processed cocoa powder - 1 cup (85g)
◯ Baking soda - 1 ½ Tsp
◯ Baking powder - 1 ½ Tsp
◯ Fine sea salt - ½ Tsp
◯ Salted butter, softened - 8 TBSP
◯ Natural granulated sugar - 2 cups
◯ Light brown sugar - ½ cup
◯ Whole eggs, at room temperature - 3
◯ Egg yolk - 1
◯ Vanilla extract - 2 Tsp
◯ Hot brewed coffee - 1 cup
Coconut Italian Meringue
◯ Egg whites, at room temperature – 2
◯ Cream of tartar – ¼ Tsp
◯ Water – ¼ cup
◯ Raw sugar – ½ cup
◯ Half of a lemon to rub the bowl and attachment
◯ Coconut extract - ¼ to ½ teaspoon
Details
Yield:
a 6” 4-layered cake or a 8” or 9” 2-layered cake
Total time:
2.5 hours
Active time:
20 minutes to make the batter, 10 minutes to make the Italian meringue
Baking time:
35 to 45 minutes
Equipment:
stand mixer or electric hand mixer, three 6” cake pans or two 8” or 9” cake pans, candy thermometer
Steps
To make the devil’s food cake:
Preheat oven to 350°. Prepare your cake pans by greasing them with butter, spraying baking spray or lining with parchment paper.
In a large measuring cup pour the ⅓ cup of vegetable oil. Measure over the ¼ cup of buttermilk (if using) and pour over the cup of sour cream. Gently mix and set aside.
Sift over a large bowl the 1 ½ cup of all-purpose flour, the ¾ cup of cake flour, the cup of Dutch processed cocoa powder, the 1 ½ teaspoon of baking soda, the 1 ½ teaspoon of baking powder and the ½ teaspoon of salt.
In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or using an electric mixer with the beaters, beat the 8 tablespoons of butter in medium speed (#4 in the Kitchen Aid) for one minute just to break it down and make it creamy. Gradually add the 2 cups of the granulated sugar and the ½ cup of light brown sugar. Increase speed to medium high (#6) and beat for 5 minutes. Stop the mixer halfway thru to scrape down the butter from the sides and the bottom of the bowl. Decrease the speed to add the 3 eggs and the egg yolk, one at a time, and the 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract, then speed up again and beat for one minute.
Decrease speed to the lowest (#1) and through the lid opening add about ⅓ of the flour mixture. Pour about half of the sour cream mixture. Add another ⅓ of the flour mixture and pour the remaining sour cream mixture. End with the remaining flour. Stop mixer as soon as it is incorporated, even if you still see small steaks of flour. Pour the cup of hot coffee over and with a wooden spoon or silicon spatula gently mix in a folding motion until batter looks homogeneous.
Transfer batter evenly to prepared pans. Bake for about 35 minutes if using 6” cake pans, 40 to 45 minutes if using 8” or 9” pans, until a toothpick comes out clean after you inserted it through the center of the cake. A few moist crumbs, if any, are okay.
Wait a few minutes before turning cakes out of pan. Let them cool down completely on the counter or place them in the fridge for 20 minutes to speed up the process.
When ready to frost, slice each cake transversally by half. Using a spatula or the reverse side of a large spoon, spread a semi-thick coat of the meringue (recipe below) through the inside of one of the cakes. Arrange another cake on top and repeat until you have the desired number of layers. Spread a very thin coat of the meringue on top of the whole cake to make the crumb coat (see notes above), wiping or scraping on a bowl the meringue sticked to the utensil. Do the same through the sides of the cake. Place cake in the fridge for 20 to 30 minutes.
Fluff the remaining meringue by hand with a whisk to make it soft again. Take the cake out and this time spread a thicker coat of meringue on top and smearing it all the way down through the sides. Make swirls with the spatula or spoon for some decorative swirls. Sprinkle sweetened coconut on top and on the sides if desired and as always, you may decorate with fresh fruits and nuts!
To make the coconut Italian meringue:
Make sure your bowl and whisk attachment is well cleaned and not greasy. Any grease will prevent egg whites from rising.
Rub the bottom and walls of your bowl and whisk attachment with half a lemon. Put the 2 egg whites and the ½ teaspoon of cream of tartar in the bowl. Whisk in low speed for 30 seconds to distribute the cream of tartar and then increase the speed to medium (#4 in the Kitchen Aid), until soft peaks form.
In the meantime, combine ¼ cup of water and the ½ of sugar in a small saucepan. Heat over high heat and cook until a candy thermometer reaches 240°, about three to four minutes.
With the mixer running, pour over the syrup in a thin stream without pausing. Whisk until the meringue reaches room temperature, 3 to 5 minutes. During the last minute add the coconut extract. As soon as the bowl feels cool on the outside the meringue is ready to go!
