Devil's Food Cake

Well yesterday I was in the mood for baking and in the mood for chocolate (when am I ever not?), and it just had to be a large, tall, extravegant looking creation.  

What better than the Devil’s Food Cake which just screams excess.

Devil’s Food Cake is one of my all time favourite treats, even the name is seductively dark and promising, what is there not to love?

This overtly seductive chocolaty nature of the cake is how it gained its name, why? Simply because the Devil is said to be the greatest tempter.  I have to agree that the culinary version is this cake and hence the name is incredibly apt.

All said, this cake has to be food fit for the angels too as it is so delicious, wouldn’t they want a piece of the action too?  I know I would.

So I decided to have a scan through various recipe ideas for this cake and come up with something I could claim as my own.  

I think I hit on success, as the cake is so scrumptious, very rich and sticky, everything you’d want from this type of cake and a little more. With a layer of marshmallow filling and rich chocolate ganache the cake became pure chocolate extravagance.  

The marshmallow filling became very sticky and stringy, almost chewing-gum like to look at once set but it was delicious and elicited many excited “how did you manage that?” type comments and looks of awe. Always great to receive them.

I used a coffee enhanced chocolate for the ganache, not because I wanted to have a coffee flavour within the cake but because it adds depth and roundness of flavour alongside the bittersweet 80% dark chocolate used.  The coffee flavour went unnoticed by fellow eaters of the cake, although I did get a slight espresso rush of flavour before the other flavourings came through.  If you make this cake, please let me know how this goes for you.

Next time I will play around with different scented chocolates and maybe different fillings, and believe me, there will be many next times.

The flower and hearts brought a little glamour and elegance to the proceedings.  All the cake really needed was a cake stand so it could be left to stand proudly, but alas, I am yet to own one. Maybe now is a good time to treat myself?