
The BraveTart cookbook came out a little over 2 years ago, but very quickly the Devil’s Food Chocolate Cake recipe became my go-to chocolate cake recipe. Why do I love this recipe? Let me count the ways:
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A. The first reason why I love this recipe is because it’s so easy. You get to throw out all of the “how to make a cake from scratch” rules.
- You don’t need to set out your eggs, milk and butter 2 hours in advance.
- You don’t need a stand mixer
- And best of all you can make the whole thing in a single pot.
B. The second reason that I love this recipe is simple: it’s a damn good cake. I try very hard to never use the word “moist”, but there is simply no other way to describe this devil’s food chocolate cake. My general philosophy on cake is that the cake is the star of the show, and the frosting/fillings are the fun sidekicks. They aren’t the main attraction, they aren’t getting a spin off, they exist to make the star look that much better.

If the cake isn’t the best thing ever, why on earth would you spend so much time making frostings, fillings and then decorating the thing? For me, frosting is 100% optional. I’m a proud member of “Team Cake”. When I eat a slice of cake, I start from the cake side and work my way to the frosting. Most of the time I leave most of the frosting on the plate. This recipe is good enough to eat on it’s own.
C. The third reason is because Chocolate. To make this recipe, you are going to have to find Dutch Process Cocoa. I finally broke down and bought the Cacao Barry Extra Brute cocoa powder that BraveTart recommends in the book. It is the good kind that you have to buy on Amazon Prime for $20 a pound. It was a hit to my baking budget, but in order to make the deepest darkest chocolate cake ever sacrifices had to be made. I never had any luck finding dutch process cocoa in my local grocery store, so check around before you order online. Be warned: this recipe won’t work with regular unsweetened cocoa. Friends don’t let friends use Hershey’s Cocoa powder for this cake. I promise investing in quality ingredients will be so worth it.

* Note: Because I buy Dutch Process Chocolate in bulk, I store it in an OXO Pop container with the fanciest of labels. Yes, that’s painter’s tape. Yes, I know that Pinterest exists. Painter’s tape is the best because it will stay intact after getting wet, which makes routine cleanings a breeze.
D. This specific recipe is great when you need to make a lot of cake at once. Did you volunteer to make cupcakes for {insert event: work, school, bake sale, etc.} and you’re up the night before hating your life. This is the recipe you want because it makes a lot of cake. 3- 8 inch rounds; 40 (ish) cupcakes; 18 mini bundt cakes; 8 million mini cupcakes. Okay, that last one might be a slight exaggeration. You get a lot of bang for your cake buck.

Until I force myself to try new devil's food cake recipes, this recipe is the base in any of the chocolate cakes that I feature on this site. See the mocha cupcakes that were a hit at my office. One day I will diversify, but for now the reliability of this cake gives me space to experiment with fillings, frostings and cake decorations.

Recipe
BraveTart Devil’s Food Chocolate Cake
- Total Time: 1 hour
Description
Devil's Food Cake recipe adapted from the BraveTart Cookbook by Stella Parks
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 3 sticks unsalted butter
- 1 ½ cups black coffee
- 1 cup Dutch process cocoa powder (Cacao Barry Extra Brute)
- 1 ¼ cup finely chopped dark chocolate (at least 72%)
- 2 cups gently packed light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 large eggs
- 3 egg yolks
- 2 cups all purpose flour (sifted)
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
Instructions
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º Prepare three 8 inch rounds with parchment paper and cooking spray. If you are making cupcakes, skip this step and set out cupcake lines in your muffin tins.
- Combine the butter and coffee in a 4 quart dutch oven and set over low heat. Once butter has melted, remove from heat.
- Whisk in the dutch process cocoa and dark chocolate, stirring until smooth. Then stir in the brown sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Mix in the eggs and egg yolks until completely combined. Sift in the flour, followed by the baking soda. Continue to whisk until the batter comes together.
- Divide the batter among the pans or cupcake tins.
- For round cakes: bake for about 30 minutes.
- For cupcakes: bake for 20-22 minutes.
- To check the cake insert a toothpick or wooden skewer in the center of the cake. If the toothpick comes out with a few crumbs attached, the cake is done. You can also use an instant read thermometer -- the cake is done when the center reaches 210ºF.
- Cool the cake completely before frosting. This should take at least 90 minutes.
- Decorate with your favorite frosting.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Dessert
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