Devil's Food Cake

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We produced one of the most moist and best-tasting chocolate cakes by following Alton's recipe. The only deviations from the recipe were: [1] using regular cocoa because we could not find dutch processed cocoa and [2] baking the cake in two 9-inch circular pans.

NOTE: Like many of Alton's baking recipes, when he specifies ounces the recipe is calling for measurement by weight, not volume.

We frosted the outside of the cake and its layers with a vanilla-hazelnut mousse. The cake was well-received at a recent birthday party and some other guests wanted to use this recipe as a "go-to" for their cakes in the future.

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I first made this cake a few months ago when I was pregnant and had a craving. I had to go with all AP flour and didn't have Dutch process cocoa (and, being pregnant and hankering for sweets, I was doing this all at around midnight so a quick trip to the store was out. It still turned out amazing. The family loved it and despite my best efforts, I was unable to keep some in the freezer for after the baby was born. It was moist and super chocolaty. I didn't have an issue with it being crumbly. I imagine if someone did, they did something wrong.
The frosting was just a tad too sweet for me, but on the cake it was perfect (and was especially good when it was semi-frozen ;.
I'm gearing up to make this again for my son's 3rd birthday and have all the appropriate ingredients on hand. I can't wait to try it again!
AB, you never steer me wrong. :D

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I own my own bakery and this is, by far, the best Devil's Food cake I've ever tasted! I pair it with my homemade coconut buttercream frosting for my hubby's birthday every year. It's like a moist, cakey Mounds candy bar on a plate. :
Well done, Alton!!

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I've made this recipe only once before, but am preparing it again for a friend's birthday tomorrow.

I don't have a lot of experience making devil's food cake, but I have a decent amount of experience eating it, and I have to say this recipe ranks among the tastiest devil's food cakes I've tasted. The rich, dark flavor of cocoa emanates through the light and airy cake. The crumb is delicate, and in my experience, bordering on crumbly.

The assembly for the cake is relatively easy. Measuring the ingredients is crucial here, just as it is with most other baked goods. Steeping the cocoa powder in hot water is an interesting step and makes sense intellectually, but I'm curious if it actually makes a difference in practice. I'd rather not waste my time and money testing out a hypothesis, though, so steep the cocoa I shall.

If you like devil's food cake, this recipe is top notch.

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I watched Alton Brown make this cake and frosting on Good Eats. I then came to this website and got the recipe and made a shopping list for items I did not have. I did not attempt to make the recipe until I had the correct ingredients. Since I chose to make cupcakes instead of a cake, I adjusted my cooking time down. I kept reading about people substituting ingredients and then complaining about the end result. I read comments which referred to "dryness" or "flavorless" or "not enough chocolate" or "not enough frosting to cover the cake" etc. When I made the cake using correct ingredients and adjusting cooking time for cupcakes the result was a wonderful moist rich chocolate cake with light chocolaty frosting which more than covered the cupcakes and a side cake I made. The cake was so rich a darker chocolate frosting would have been overpowering. All I can say is - If you are not going to follow the recipe, do not complain about the end result as if the recipe is at fault.

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This is absolutely the best Devil's Food cake recipe I've ever used. I've made this recipe several times & it has turned out perfect every time. Very moist & oh so good! If it turned out dry for you, then you've done something incorrectly. The only changes I make are to substitute Scharfenberger Cocoa (my own personal preference and to add a bit of cinnamon (again my own personal preference. Thank you, Alton Brown, for another family favorite!

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Taste light enough. Very dry. not enough frosting.

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This was the worst cake I've ever made. :( It was a waste of time and ingredients. I'm sure it was my fault, although I have 30 years experience in the kitchen. It came out lumpy, no flavor at all, and it is dry despite all the changes made to make it not dry... What a bummer... whaaa Man, I really had my taste buds set on something really good. This cake is fit for nothing other than, yep, you got it, the furnace...

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My dad requested a devil's food cake with mint frosting for his b-day, so I used the cake recipe here. I found this recipe easy compared to the other made-from-scratch cakes that I've made.

I did have to make one substitution: instead of Dutch processed cocoa powder, I sifted 6 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon of unsweetened cocoa powder with a little under 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda. I guess if you've never had Dutch chocolate, you won't know the difference because everyone seemed to think this cake was the best chocolate cake they'd had in decades.
As for people noting that this cake was "crumbly," I think they were probably substituting regular flour for the cake flour or something, because the cake that I made was definitely NOT the least bit "crumbly"; it was perfectly moist and springy, like every other cake I've made with cake flour (boxed cake flour is very easy to find at any grocrey store, so try not to substitute.

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I have been testing several recipes out for the best chocolate for cupcakes and this is the best ~ moist ~ cake. At first I was a little daunted by how little dry ingredients were used and how much wet ratio it was compared to all my other recipes but it was worth it. All were Rave reviews from all.