We love chocolate cake and really, anything with chocolate in it and we love the New York Times. The two meet for a perfect partnership in their cooking app. We tested the cake – it is delicious – although not the easiest cake we have ever tried but well worth the effort if you need something special for a dinner party. Recommended wine: blend your own from a Merlot and a Cabernet Sauvignon. The fruity flavor and mild acidic taste compliments chocolate desserts ever so well.
Wines available at myowncuvee
Devil’s Food Cake With Black Pepper Buttercreamby Melissa Clark
Time: 2 1/2 hours
Yield: 10 servings
INGREDIENTS
5 large egg whites
1 cup/200 grams granulated sugar
Large pinch kosher salt
3 sticks plus 2 tablespoons/365 grams unsalted butter, softened
1 vanilla bean pod, split lengthwise, seeds scraped
1 teaspoon/5 grams coarsely ground black pepper
10 tablespoons/140 grams unsalted butter, softened, more for greasing pans
⅔ cup/70 grams unsweetened natural (not Dutch-processed) cocoa powder, more for pans
¾ cup/180 milliliters whole milk
2 cups/200 grams cake flour
1 ½ teaspoons/10 grams baking soda
½ teaspoon/3 grams baking powder
½ teaspoon/3 grams kosher salt, more as needed
1 ¾ cups/350 grams granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons/10 milliliters vanilla extract
1 ½ cups/300 grams granulated sugar
1 cup/240 milliliters heavy cream
Pinch kosher salt
6 ounces/170 grams unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
8 tablespoons/112 grams unsalted butter, diced
2 teaspoons/10 milliliters vanilla extract
For the recipe in its entirety, look for Devils Food Cake with Black Pepper Buttercream in the NYT Cooking app.