Chocolate
by: Heather Baird
January19,2015
0 Ratings
- Makes 12 cakes
Author Notes
This is the snack cake of my childhood. If you have a newfangled specialty snack cake pan, then by all means use it. But if you're like me and without such a thing, use an 8 x 8 x 3-inch square baking pan, and then cut the cake into finger-sized pieces. Made this way, the cakes end up being a little larger than the 2-bite original, but that's nothing to complain about. —Heather Baird
What You'll Need
Ingredients
- For the devil's food cake:
- 1/2 poundunsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cupslight brown sugar, packed
- 2 eggs
- 6 tablespoonsunsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoonsbaking soda
- 1 teaspoonvanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoonsalt
- 1 1/2 cupsall-purpose flour
- 2/3 cupsour cream
- 1/2 cuphot coffee
- For the cream filling and chocolate frosting:
- 1/2 cupwhole milk
- 2 tablespoonsall-purpose flour
- 1 cupunsalted butter, softened, divided
- 1/2 cupgranulated sugar
- 2 1/2 cupsconfectioners' sugar, divided
- 1 teaspoonvanilla extract, divided
- 1/4 cupdark unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 cupchocolate syrup
- 1 pinchsalt
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease an 8 x 8-inch square cake pan.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the butter in a large bowl until smooth. Add the sugar and eggs; beat until lightened in color. Add the cocoa, baking soda, vanilla extract, and salt, then mix well. Beat in the flour in 3 additions, alternating with the sour cream (begin and end with the flour). Add the hot coffee and mix until a smooth batter forms.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick tester comes out clean, approximately 40 to 50 minutes. Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting and cooling completely on a wire rack. Wrap the cake in plastic wrap and transfer it to the freezer until it is partially frozen, about 1 hour.
- Level the top with a serrated knife (if needed) and cut it into 12 even fingers.
- For the cream filling, whisk together the milk and flour in a small saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens to a pudding-like consistency. Remove the pan from the heat source and transfer the mixture to a shallow dish, and refrigerate until completely cool.
- In a mixing bowl, cream 1/2 cup softened butter and granulated sugar until well-combined. Add the cooled milk mixture and whip on high speed until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, beat until well-combined. Transfer to a piping bag or a zip-top bag with the corner snipped. Cut a slit lengthwise on top of each snack cake and pipe in a little of the cream in the centers.
- For the frosting, place the cocoa powder, the remaining confectioners' sugar, and butter in a large mixing bowl. Beat until just incorporated. Add the chocolate syrup, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, and salt. Beat until well-combined. Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large Cake Icer Decorator Tip (#789) and pipe the frosting on top of each cake. Alternatively, you may spread the icing on top of the cakes with a spatula, then drag the tines of a fork through it to create an authentic appearance.
- Store the cakes in an air-tight container for up to two days (if they last that long!).
Tags:
- American
- Coffee
- Milk/Cream
- Sour Cream
- Chocolate
- Dessert
See what other Food52ers are saying.
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Terri Newton
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Heather Baird
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lena16
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Robin
I'm Heather, an artist-turned-baker with a passion for desserts! I write the SprinkleBakes blog - a place where I show people how to add more sparkle to their baking. I live in Knoxville, TN. with my husband Mark and two pugs named Biscuit and Churro. My book "SprinkleBakes: Dessert Recipes to Inspire Your Inner Artist" was published May 2012.
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6 Reviews
Terri N. August 14, 2019
I need some help with this recipe. I just made the cake, and I have no clue what I did wrong. First, it sunk in the middle. Then the darn thing stuck on the bottom. Yes I greased the pan. The batter looked ok till I started adding the coffee at the end.
Terri N. August 12, 2019
I have a question about the butter. For the cake, it says 1/2 pound that would be 2 sticks right?
Robin August 12, 2019
Yes
lena16 February 26, 2015
What type of unsweetened cocoa powder do you use in this recipe? A dutched European-Style (dark, alkalized) or non-alkalized (like the original Hershey's)? Thanks.
Robin February 1, 2015
How deep is the slit in the cakes? Do I remove a bit of the cake before piping in cream?
Heather B. February 1, 2015
Hi Robin,
When I make these I do not remove any portion of the cake from the center. I usually just cut within 1/4 inch of the bottom (approximate) and pipe in the filling.
