Cooking Lesson #477: “The-Devil-Made-Me-Do-It” Chocolate Cake With Fluffy White Marshmallow Frosting

…from the Perspectives’ Kitchen

How you doin’? This is a fantastic chocolate layer cake doin’? Different generations will have their own associations to the phrase, “The Devil Made Me Do It.” For some, it might go back to the ‘60s with comedian Flip Wilson’s character “Geraldine.” For others, a more current reference would be the film “The Conjuring… The Devil Made Me Do It.” For me, well it’s all about this cake and why I just can’t stop eating it.
 
Moist and light, the crumb isn’t particularly dense which makes for messy slicing unless you freeze the layers before frosting. It’s much softer and more luscious than a classic chocolate layer cake, but I predict you’ll be saying those words yourself once you whip (and eat up) up one of these beauties.
 
Prep time:  20 minutes
Bake time:  30 minutes
Cool time:  10 minutes
Frosting time:  30 minutes
Yield:  Three (3) 8-inch layers (or two (2) 9-inch layers)
 
Ingredients 
1/2 cup shortening, at room temperature (Crisco works well)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2-1/2 cups sifted cake flour
1-3/4 cups granulated sugar
1-3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons natural cocoa powder
3 tablespoons extra dark cocoa powder (I prefer Guittard Dark) (or unalkalized unsweetened cocoa powder)
1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1-1/3 cups whole milk, divided
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
6 ounces chopped dark chocolate (64% to 72%), melted and cooled
 
Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 350° F.  
2. Butter, dust and line the round cake pans with parchment paper. (See ChefSecret below.)
3. In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat the shortening and butter until soft.
4. In a separate medium bowl, sift together the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cocoa powders and espresso powder.
5. Add the flour mixture, 1 cup of the milk and the vanilla to the shortening. Mix until wet, then beat for 2 minutes on medium speed.
6. Add the eggs, remaining 1/3 cup of milk, and melted chocolate and beat for another 2 minutes, until well-combined.
7. Divide the batter evenly between all three (or two) pans.
8. Bake the cakes for 30 minutes, or until the cake just begins to pull away from the sides of the pan and the surface springs back when lightly pressed.
9. Let the cake layers cool for 10 minutes in the pan, and then turn out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
10. Either serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream or freeze the layers and then frost later. Freezing the layers makes frosting and slicing easier.

 
ChefSecret:  For dusting chocolate cake baking pans, use cocoa powder instead of flour to prevent white streaks.
 
 
                                  Fluffy White Marshmallow Frosting
 
This fluffy, sugary frosting capped off every birthday cake I had growing up. My mother frosted most of her layer cakes with this frosting for years. With just egg whites and sugar, it's far less decadent and less heavy than a traditional buttercream but has an ethereal quality that makes it much more worthy of a celebration cake. 

Yield:  Makes enough frosting to frost three 8-inch layer cakes.

Ingredients
4 large egg whites
3 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup cold water
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
 
Directions

1. Combine all the ingredients in the top of a double boiler. Beat with an electric mixer set at low speed for 30 seconds, then set the pan over rapidly boiling water.
2. Using a handheld mixer, continue beating the frosting for about 7 minutes until light and fluffy.
3. Remove the frosting from the heat and beat for 1 minute more.  If the frosting is too liquid-y and doesn't hold a soft-to-stiff peak, let it cool at room temperature for 10 minutes (or in the fridge for a few minutes), and then beat it on high speed for a few more minutes until the texture is thick enough.
4. Now you are ready to frost the frozen layers.

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Covid-19 quip of the Day: “With all this time on my hands lately, I’ve been thinking… Who do you call when you see an endangered animal eating an endangered plant?”
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