Devil’s Food Chocolate Cake with Black Walnut
Spray the cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment circles, and heat the oven to 350°. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa, cream the sugar and margarine until fluffy, add the egg yolks one at a time, and add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the buttermilk. Stir in the black walnut flavoring, fold in the stiff egg whites, and bake 25 to 30 minutes until a tester comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in the pans, then on a rack, and frost with the cocoa coffee frosting.
Devil's food is chocolate cake at its most decadent — dark, moist, and almost sinfully rich. This version gives the classic real character by working earthy black walnut flavoring through the crumb, its bold, faintly wild flavor cutting through the deep chocolate beautifully. Finished with a glossy fudge frosting, it is a dramatic, old-fashioned cake, the kind that anchors a birthday table or a Sunday supper and leaves everyone reaching for a second slice.
The Deep, Moist Batter
Build a rich devil's food batter, dark with cocoa and kept moist by the right balance of liquid and fat. This is a cake that should be intensely chocolatey and tender, so mix it well and bake it just until set — a moist crumb is the soul of a proper devil's food.
Black Walnuts and Fudge Frosting
Stir the black walnut flavoring into the batter so its earthy flavor runs all the way through, then blanket the cooled cake in glossy fudge frosting. The black walnut adds a bold, grown-up depth that keeps the sweet fudge in check, and more of it in the frosting carries the character through.
Devil’s Food Chocolate Cake with Black Walnut
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- Prepare 3 (8-inch round) cake pans by first coating them with vegetable oil spray. Cut out a circle of parchment paper the same size as the cake and place it into the bottom of each pan. Spray again.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa.
- Use an electric mixer to combine the sugar and margarine until fluffy.
- Add the egg yolks one at a time. Mix well.
- Add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the buttermilk.
- Stir in the black walnut flavoring.
- Pour the batter into a large mixing bowl. Set it aside.
- Beat the egg whites until stiff.
- Fold the egg whites into the batter.
- Divide the batter among the three pans.
- Bake in the center rack of the oven for about 25 to 30 minutes or until a tester inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
- Cool the cakes in the pan for 10 minutes.
- Continue cooling by removing each cake from the pan to a rack.
- Remove the parchment paper.
- For the frosting, use an electric mixer to combine the confectioners’ sugar, cocoa, melted butter, and salt.
- Stir in the coffee and the black walnut flavoring.
- Add just enough milk to reach the desired consistency.
- Frost the cake as you wish.
The Heart of the Table
A dark, dramatic chocolate cake is generosity you can slice — it belongs to celebrations and Sunday tables alike. There is something heartfelt and old-fashioned about a devil's food cake, the kind that carries the warmth of family kitchens and says an occasion is worth doing properly.
The Art of the Host
Cool the layers fully before frosting so the fudge sets cleanly, and use a serrated knife wiped between cuts for tidy slices of such a rich cake. A few black walnuts scattered on top make a handsome, telling finish.
Neighborly Grace
- The Preparation: Bake the layers a day ahead and keep them well wrapped; the flavor deepens with a night's rest. Frost the day you serve, and bring leftover slices back to room temperature so the crumb stays soft and moist.
- The Pour: A glass of ruby Port or a strong coffee stands up to the deep chocolate and earthy walnuts; for a non-alcoholic pairing, a rich cup of hot cocoa carries the same indulgent warmth.
- The Vibe: Present it whole for a moment of drama, then serve thick slices with coffee at a birthday or Sunday supper. This is a special-occasion cake — dark, dramatic, and pleasingly old-fashioned, made for tables that call for something memorable.