Velvet Devil's Food Layer Cake with Coffee Buttercream Frosting
By America's Test KitchenPublished on August 22, 2007
Time
1¾ hours, plus 2 hours 20 minutes cooling
Yield
Serves 12
Ingredients
Velvet Devil's Food Cake
½ cup natural cocoa powder 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder, or instant coffee1 cup boiling water 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 ½ sticks), softened1 ¼ cups granulated sugar 2 large eggs, at room temperature1 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour ½ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon table saltCoffee Buttercream Frosting
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder, or instant coffee1 tablespoon coffee liqueur 1 tablespoon vanilla extract ½ pound (227 grams) unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened2 cups confectioners' sugar 1 egg yolk (beaten), or 2 tablespoons beaten eggBefore You Begin
This cake's texture is both soft and dense, similar to chocolate pound cake, only softer and lighter. Its flavor is intensely chocolate, yet pleasantly sweet. The substantial coffee-flavored buttercream stands up to the cake's dense texture and balances the rich chocolate flavor.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 8-by-1 1/2-inch round baking pans with shortening. Line pan bottoms with waxed or parchment paper; grease paper as well. Dust pans with flour; tap out excess.
- Mix cocoa and instant coffee in small bowl; add boiling water and mix until smooth. Cool to room temperature, then stir in vanilla.
- Beat butter in bowl of electric mixer set at medium-high speed until smooth and shiny, about 30 seconds. Gradually sprinkle in sugar; beat until mixture is fluffy and almost white, 3 to 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating 1 full minute after each addition.
- Whisk flour, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. With mixer on lowest speed, add about 1/3 of dry ingredients to batter, followed immediately by about 1/3 of cocoa mixture; mix until ingredients are almost incorporated into batter. Repeat process twice more. When batter appears blended, stop mixer and scrape bowl sides with rubber spatula. Return mixer to low speed; beat until batter looks satiny, about 15 seconds longer.
- Divide batter evenly between pans. With rubber spatula, run batter to pan sides and smooth top. Bake cakes until they feel firm in center when lightly presesd anad skewer comes out clean or with just a crumb or two adhering, 23 to 30 minutes. Tranfer pans to wire racks; cool for 20 minutes. Run knife around perimeter of each pan, invert cakes onto racks, and peel off paper liners. Reinvert cakes onto additional racks; cool completely before frosting.
- Mix instant coffee, coffee liqueur, and vanilla in small cup until coffee dissolves; set aside. Beat butter in bowl of electric mixer at medium-high speed until fluffy, about 1 minute. Add sugar and beat 3 minutes longer. Add coffee mixture and egg to frosting; beat until frosting mounds around beaters in a fluffy mass, 3 to 5 minutes longer. Apply frosting onto first cake layer and spread with a long metal spatula, top with second cake layer, top second layer with frosting, spread and then frost sides.
for the cake
for the buttercream frosting
Time
1¾ hours, plus 2 hours 20 minutes coolingYield
Serves 12Ingredients
Velvet Devil's Food Cake
½ cup natural cocoa powder
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder, or instant coffee
1 cup boiling water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 ½ sticks), softened
1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon table salt
Coffee Buttercream Frosting
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder, or instant coffee
1 tablespoon coffee liqueur
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
½ pound (227 grams) unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 egg yolk (beaten), or 2 tablespoons beaten egg
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Velvet Devil's Food Cake
½ cup natural cocoa powder
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder, or instant coffee
1 cup boiling water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 ½ sticks), softened
1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon table salt
Coffee Buttercream Frosting
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder, or instant coffee
1 tablespoon coffee liqueur
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
½ pound (227 grams) unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 egg yolk (beaten), or 2 tablespoons beaten egg
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Velvet Devil's Food Cake
½ cup natural cocoa powder
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder, or instant coffee
1 cup boiling water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 ½ sticks), softened
1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon table salt
Coffee Buttercream Frosting
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder, or instant coffee
1 tablespoon coffee liqueur
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
½ pound (227 grams) unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 egg yolk (beaten), or 2 tablespoons beaten egg
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
While developing our devil’s food layer cake recipe we found very little difference between cakes baked with standard American cocoa and “Dutched” cocoa. We chose water over milk or buttermilk to moisten our cake batter, discovering that cakes made with dairy had a more muted chocolate flavor.
Before You Begin
This cake's texture is both soft and dense, similar to chocolate pound cake, only softer and lighter. Its flavor is intensely chocolate, yet pleasantly sweet. The substantial coffee-flavored buttercream stands up to the cake's dense texture and balances the rich chocolate flavor.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 8-by-1 1/2-inch round baking pans with shortening. Line pan bottoms with waxed or parchment paper; grease paper as well. Dust pans with flour; tap out excess.
- Mix cocoa and instant coffee in small bowl; add boiling water and mix until smooth. Cool to room temperature, then stir in vanilla.
- Beat butter in bowl of electric mixer set at medium-high speed until smooth and shiny, about 30 seconds. Gradually sprinkle in sugar; beat until mixture is fluffy and almost white, 3 to 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating 1 full minute after each addition.
- Whisk flour, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. With mixer on lowest speed, add about 1/3 of dry ingredients to batter, followed immediately by about 1/3 of cocoa mixture; mix until ingredients are almost incorporated into batter. Repeat process twice more. When batter appears blended, stop mixer and scrape bowl sides with rubber spatula. Return mixer to low speed; beat until batter looks satiny, about 15 seconds longer.
- Divide batter evenly between pans. With rubber spatula, run batter to pan sides and smooth top. Bake cakes until they feel firm in center when lightly presesd anad skewer comes out clean or with just a crumb or two adhering, 23 to 30 minutes. Tranfer pans to wire racks; cool for 20 minutes. Run knife around perimeter of each pan, invert cakes onto racks, and peel off paper liners. Reinvert cakes onto additional racks; cool completely before frosting.
- Mix instant coffee, coffee liqueur, and vanilla in small cup until coffee dissolves; set aside. Beat butter in bowl of electric mixer at medium-high speed until fluffy, about 1 minute. Add sugar and beat 3 minutes longer. Add coffee mixture and egg to frosting; beat until frosting mounds around beaters in a fluffy mass, 3 to 5 minutes longer. Apply frosting onto first cake layer and spread with a long metal spatula, top with second cake layer, top second layer with frosting, spread and then frost sides.
for the cake
for the buttercream frosting
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