This Devil’s Food Cake from Zoë Bakes Cakes is the best chocolate cake recipe I have ever tried and believe me, over the past 20+ years, I’ve tried them all. It is perfect for devil’s food cupcakes with cream cheese icing.
Want a Devil’s Food Cake fit for a celebration? Try my layer cake with Champange Buttercream!
My Secret Devil’s Food Cake Ingredients
- Lyle’s Golden Syrup
- Rum
- Coffee
The dark chocolate cake has a texture that is smooth and rich. The flavor is not overly sweet, because of the intensity of the coffee (you don’t actually taste the coffee, it just cuts the sweet). The rum makes it a great match for cream cheese frosting sweetened with Lyle’s Golden Syrup.
If you haven’t tried Lyle’s you are in for a huge treat and a new addiction. I first had it when a friend from South Africa gave it to me on a peanut butter sandwich. It is a decidedly British snack and like nothing you’ve ever had before. It’s a syrup made of sugar cane that looks and feels like honey, but the taste is not nearly as cloying. It can be found in some grocery stores and even on Amazon, gotta’ love the internet!
How to Pipe Icing
For those of you who want to learn to decorate your devil’s food cupcakes with a little more flair, here is a post on piping icing roses.
pottery by Kevin Caufield
Ingredients
Devil’s Food Cupcakes
- 2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
- 2 1/3 cups (280g) all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup (50g) Cocoa Powder (I like the flavor and color of Dutch-processed cocoa but Natural cocoa produces a more even crumb)
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/8 cups (300ml) hot coffee
- 1/4 cup rum
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup (240ml) buttermilk
- 1/2 cup (120ml) vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Icing
- 1 1/2 pounds (680g) package of Philadelphia Cream Cheese (I am really brand loyal, having tried lots!), softened
- 1 1/2 cups (330g) unsalted butter softened
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon lemon extract optional
- 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 5 cups (600g) confectioner's sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Lyle’s Golden Syrup use honey if you are in a pinch
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees F and prepare 1 dozen large muffin tins with Paper Baking Cups (or two 9-inch rounds).
- Combine all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl and whisk until combined, set aside.
- Whisk together, eggs, buttermilk, oil and vanilla until well combined. Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and whisk, while slowly adding the coffee and rum to the batter and whisk until totally blended and smooth, about 2 minutes. The batter will be quite runny.
- Fill a measuring cup or pitcher with the batter and then fill the muffin cups about 3/4 full.
- Bake the devil's food cupcakes for about 18-20 minutes (about 25-30 for 9-inch rounds) or until a tester comes out clean.
- Allow to cool on a cake rack and then frost with cream cheese icing (recipe follows).
- Cream Cheese Icing: Combine all the ingredients in a medium sized bowl and cream together until smooth. I used a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip to decorate these devil’s food cupcakes. You may want to double the icing recipe just in case you find yourself dipping into the bowl with a spoon!
Hi! I was really excited to try these but when I took them out of the oven they completely sunk in! I followed the recipe exactly. Not sure what went wrong!?
Thank you
Isabelle
Hi isabelle,
Oh no, that is so odd. Did you test them with a toothpick or skewer to make sure they weren’t wet? Sounds like maybe they needed a few more minutes to bake.
Thanks, Zoë
This recipe is amazing! I have made it 3 times in 10 days, in both regular sized cupcakes and mini cupcakes. I used regular milk all 3 times, and one batch had hot water instead of coffee. They all turned out moist and delicious (not quite as deep a chocolate flavour without the coffee). Thanks for sharing!
Hi Zoe,
Thank you so much. I will give it a shot and let you know how it went.
Oh, last 2 question: do I use Top & Bottom heat or Fan forced less 25 degrees? We use Celsius in Singapore.
Can I bake it all in one 8 inch pan instead of 2x8inch. Realised I have only 1 8inch square or round and a square 9inch. For 9 inch square, is it ok to bake it for about 35 mins?? Please advise.
Many Thanks in advance.
Jacqui
Hi Zoe,
My husband loves mint chocolate so i was wondering if you have ever tried making this cake mint flavored? If so, can you recommend how to do so?
By the way, i made this recipe (in cake format) for a few people now and they always say it is the BEST so thank you for the recipe! It is my favorite chocolate cake hands down!
Cheers, Amanda
Hi Zoe,
Just read this awesome recipe and reviews.
Am excited to try this.
If I were to bake it in a 8 inch square or round baking pan, how long do I put in in the oven? At what temperature? Do I use it similar to the cupcakes? Does this recipe make for 2X 8 inch pans?
Appreciate your advise.
Jacqui from Singapore
Hi Jacqui,
If you are baking in 2 8-inch pans then bake for about 30 to 40 minutes, or until at tester comes out clean.
Thanks and enjoy! Zoë
These look so good. I was wondering if you can skip adding the coffee and skip the rum and brandy. will it still work?
Hi Yari,
Yes, if you replace the liquid with something, but it will have a very different taste to it.
Thanks, Zoë
I made this cake in 2 9″ layer insulated pans. It did not overflow and in fact the insulated pans produced a flat top beautiful cake. I used instant espresso for the coffee and it was a big hit!! I love your website.
I halved the recipe and baked a cake…….. AWESOME… Its probably the best chocolate cake I have ever made or eaten… you are a true artist Zoe. Love the site and everything you do.
Thanks so much.
thanks – i think you did (leaving out baking powder is optional w/ acidic ingredients…). thanks for the book recommendation also!
Hi confused,
This may take some experimenting and may not always work, but considering you can make baking powder by combining baking soda, cream of tartar (acid) and cornstarch, it makes sense.
Cheers, Zoë
hi zoe. thanks for your response. “I made no changes to the recipe when I switched from one cocoa to the other. It seemed to work just as well with either one.”
I (question left in comment on june 21, 2011) was referring to the discussion you had with mark, way back in january 2008 – comments are from jan 20-30, 2008 .(now that’s 3-1/2 years ago, but one reads the comments consecutively:-) (I realize that in the original recipe, natural vs dutched cocoa and buttermilk vs. milk can be used interchangably, but in the discussion w/ Mark, it sounded as though you revisited this conclusion).
in your comment of Zoë January 30, 2008 at 9:22 pm you seem to have settled on leaving out the baking powder when using buttermilk and natural cocoa….is that right?
what about if using buttermilk and dutched cocoa – then use all the baking powder, or reduce it? (Mark’s question seemed to presume that using dutched cocoa would require reducing the baking powder or omitting it….IF I understood the discussion…)
thanks for your patience…
Hi confused,
Technically the buttermilk and natural cocoa powder are adding acid to the recipe, which makes the acid in baking powder no longer as necessary. So, to Mark’s point, you could essentially reduce or eliminate the baking powder and just use the baking soda and still have the leavening effect. The reason that I mentioned trying with natural vs Dutched cocoa and regular vs buttermilk, in any combination, is that the recipe still seems to work, as written. If you want to eliminate the baking powder, then you need to have the acid of the buttermilk and/or natural cocoa.
If this kind of food science is of interest to you, I highly recommend you get the book BakeWise by Shirley O. Corriher.
Thanks and hope I cleared up the confusion? Zoë
Hi Zoe,
I am so grateful to finally find a moist chocolate cake recipe that works! I have made it twice already ad a two layer cake, but I need to make it again tomorrow and I do not remember how long to bake the 8 inch rounds for.. was it 45 minutes?
Thanks ever so much ahead of time!
Lisa
Hi Lisa,
So glad you are enjoying the devil’s food cake. I would very carefully check the layers after 35 minutes. Just ever so lightly touch the top of the cake with your finger and see if it is set. If it feels set then test it with a toothpick or skewer. If it feels wet, let it go for another 5-10 minutes, depending on how wet it feels.
Enjoy, Zoë
I made this in a layered cake version for a friend’s birthday on the 4th of July. I added a chocolate mousse filling and a simple chocolate ganache frosting. I think some people actually passed out, it was that good! Once again, you have made me the rave of a party.
One of these days I may not stuff myself silly at Tilia so I can actually try a dessert or three.
Hey Alex,
That is so cool, thanks for letting me know! I love the chocolate mousse filling idea!
Hope to run into you at Tilia!
Zoë
“The results of my buttermilk, soda and natural cocoa were excellent. ”
zoe, do I understand correctly that the instructions are if using buttermilk and natural cocoa, omit the baking powder
what about buttermilk and dutched cocoa – then use all the baking powder, or reduce it? (the original question seemed to presume that using dutched cocoa would require reducing the baking powder or omitting it….IF I understood the discussion)
Hi confused,
I made no changes to the recipe when I switched from one cocoa to the other. It seemed to work just as well with either one.
Thanks and enjoy! Zoë
Thanks, Zoe! I made the cake scaled up by 30 percent in a 2″ high 12×18 pan. The cake was a little low, only 1 or 1 1/2 inches high instead of a full 2″. I would scale it up more next time I make a cake this big for a higher cake.
I am going either bake the batter in the amounts listed above in a Wilton 11×15 cake pan (2″ deep), or scaled up to bake in a Wilton 12×18 cake pan (2″ deep).
The package information for the Wilton 11×15 pan says to use 11 cups of batter, and the package information for the 12×18 pan says to use 14 cups of batter. Both say to bake the cake at 325 degrees.
The party is for about 30 people and I still don’t have an answer as to whether to go with the larger or smaller pan. I am planning on baking just one layer.
Thanks for your help (and, btw, the blackout cake in your current looks fabulous. This cake is so versatile!).
Hi Laura,
If the pan is 2-inches tall then it should work as you suggested. Just be sure not to fill it beyond about the 1/2 way mark or it may bake over the top.
Did you enter the contest on the home page for a $100 Williams-Sonoma gift card?
Enjoy! Zoë
Zoe, I love this cake recipe. I have made it many times to raves. I am thinking about making a large birthday cake. The above batter should be enough for an 11×15 pan, don’t you think? To scale it up for a 12×18 pan, I am assuming that I increase by 30 percent (4 cups of sugar, 3 2/ cups flour, 1 1/2 cups cocoa, etc.). Does this sound right? Can I just adjust upwards the baking soda and baking powder similarly?
Hi Laura,
how deep is the pan you are intending to use? Is it just a jelly roll pan?
Thanks, Zoë
Made these as mini-cupcakes for a Christmas party – everyone LOVED them and said they were better than all the local cupcake bakeries’ versions. Used a Salted Caramel buttercream frosting from CHOW; used milk (not buttermilk); filled cupcake liners more than 3/4 full and baked for 9 min. No problems with overflowing or sinking. GREAT recipe! Will use again. Thank you!
Hi Zoe,
Tried the cupcakes, now goin to make a cake and it feels like i hve my fav chocolate cake recipe. I even had my sister get me the lyles syrup 😉
Hi Zoe,
I made these but they all fell in the middle. I filled some 1/2 full, some 2/3 full, didn’t open the oven door, etc. What went wrong?
Thanks!
Hi Andrea,
I’m sorry to hear that, this recipe is usually so reliable.
Three questions come to mind:
1. do you live at high altitude?
2. do you have an oven thermometer? most ovens are not true to the temperature they say on the dial or digital read out.
3. what brand of flour are you using?
Thanks, Zoë
Zoe,
I made you recipe into the 9-inch double layer cake with the Mocha Buttercream for a friend’s birthday. (now an epic event due to your cake) First, there was stunned silence at the shock of having taken a bite of something so good, then an immediate need to be reassured that the recipe would be shared, and finally, a sigh of relief after finding out that the rest of the cake was, indeed, going to be left for my friend to finish. Thank you for sharing.
Stephanie
Which oils do you prefer for baking? Can I get away w using light olive?
Hi Evie,
I have used olive oil in this recipe and I love it, but I LOVE olive oil. You can definitely taste it, so many people will find that flavor too strong. I usually make it with a vegetable oil like canola.
Thanks, Zoe
Hi Zoe!
Made these cupcakes last weekend and they were FANTASTIC! Used Frangelico instead of rum. This weekend, I’m using the icing to spruce up my carrot cake which I forgot to add the sugar to. My family forgave me instantly.
I’m looking forward to using this recipe to make a Black Forest cake for my husband’s birthday.
Thanks,
Tina
Hi Zoe thanks for the recepi
when i made it every loved it but it was a little sweat , can i reduce the sugar to 2 1/4 cups without ruining the cake ??
the frosting was out of the world…
thanks
Spectacular! I thought I had found the recipe I wanted, baked them and just knew they could be better. Your recipe is IT! I used Brandy and 2/3 buttermilk and 1/3 whole.
These are the cupcakes I will get in Heaven!!!! Thank you.
Thank Jilly,
So glad you enjoyed the cupcakes! 🙂
Cheers, Zoë
Thank you so so much for this recipe! I tried a test run and they turned out perfectly. I was a little worried since my batter was very very runny. Really these are awesome cupcakes!