by KelseyTheNaptimeChef
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by Sarah Shatz
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by KelseyTheNaptimeChef
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2 cups
sugar
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1 3/4 cup
all-purpose flour
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3/4 cups
dutch process cocoa powder, plus more for dusting
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1/2 teaspoon
salt
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1 teaspoon
baking powder
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2 teaspoons
baking soda
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1 cup
sour milk
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1 cup
freshly brewed strong black coffee
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1/2 cup
vegetable oil
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2
eggs
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1 teaspoon
vanilla
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Preheat oven to 350. Butter a bundt pan and dust the inside with cocoa powder, set aside.
Ask the hotline about this step!Sift together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a bowl. Set aside.
Ask the hotline about this step!In a mixer on low add the milk, coffee, vegetable oil, eggs and vanilla one at a time. mix until everything is incorporated. Then, with the mixer still on low speed, slowly add in the dry ingredients. Once all of the flour mixture is added, mix the batter for a full four minutes on medium speed.
Ask the hotline about this step!Then, pour the batter into the bundt pan and bake for 45 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Allow to cool to room temperature on a wire rack. Then, dust with powdered sugar and serve.
Ask the hotline about this step!This cake is absolutely delicious. I used buttermilk. Moist, flavorful, exquisite.
Loved this cake! It was moist, flavorful, and not too sweet. I didn't have a full size bundt cake pan so I used what I had. With one recipe I was able to make 6 mini bundt cakes and 12 cupcakes. I reduced the cooking time to 18-20 minutes and they came out great. Will definitely make again!
I'm happy to add to the chorus of people who have made this and say it's AMAZING. One of the most moist chocolate cakes I've ever made or tasted, and yet not so rich you can't eat more than a bite. Thanks so much for this recipe. I love it.
I made this recently with the buttermilk and served it to company. They loved it. I put half in the refrigerator and it's has stayed moist and delicious almost one week later. This is definitely a keeper. Thank you.
I made this recently with the buttermilk and served it to company. They loved it. I put half in the refrigerator and it's has stayed moist and delicious almost one week later. This is definitely a keeper. Thank you.
Delicious! Very moist and good chocolate flavor.
I couldn't get mine out of the pan but that's just fine.
I made this cake with buttermilk and it turned out as expected. The flavor and texture is very close to another that I have, but the ingredients and measures are a bit different. This is a nice 'snacking cake' that doesn't need icing.
Kelsey, when I baked this fabulous cake, I put the timer on 40 minutes based on some of the comments. When I checked it with a knife, it had a pudding center so I cooked it for 5 more minutes. The knife came out clean and we enjoyed it tremendously. My question is, based on the intro description, is this cake supposed to have a "pudding" center like a lava cake or cooked through? It was delicious as is, but I wanted to know if I messed up!
Hi! It is supposed to be baked through! Ovens can be so tough, my old one cooked hot, my newest one cooks cooler.... I am sure the oven timing will always vary a teeny bit from person to person. Glad it worked out! :)
I made this with my children today. It's a great recipe to make with kids: straightforward, simple and quick. The cake is beautiful, dark and with a generous crumb. It's not a sweet cake as the coffee and baking soda tempers the sugar nicely. A keeper!
This didn't work for me at all. Flavor is amazing, but the cake itself was an oven disaster. First, not knowing what "sour milk" was i subbed buttermilk and the cake essentially exploded and then flattened to a large crusty (yet delicious) cookie.
Tried again with the vinegar, but it didn't work either. granted, when you scoop it warm into a bowl with vanilla ice cream and fresh strawberries it's still amazing, but i haven't been able to get a slice of anything yet.
n.b., all i had on hand is 2% milk; could that make the difference?
After reading this I had to comment. You must have mis-measured the leaveners. There's now way this would've happened if you measured correctly and used buttermilk for the "sour milk" because that is what sour milk is. This recipe should've just been written with buttermilk anyways. I just took this cake out of my oven and it is perfect. I've been using it for years with absolutely no issues. So next time, please make sure you measure your ingredients correctly.
no, i measured correctly; i can run a set of measuring spoons (especially twice). flavor and texture is good, though it tastes like there's a bit too much baking soda. i'll just try again and reduce the amount.
Just had to reiterate how much this cake ROCKS!!!!! I know I will miss the days when my daughter stops calling it chocolate "butt" cake :-(
I made this cake for a friend's birthday party, it was a definitely a crowd pleaser! Thank you so much!
This cake is amazing. I have baked it twice in one week and tomorrow I'm giving it as a present to the nurses on my floor. I used the ingredients exactly as said and baked for 40mins because it was done...It is soooooooooo good!!!
Love love love this cake!
Excellent recipe, I put up a photo that hopefully shows how nice and moist it was. Though am I the only one who thinks it tastes a bit baking-powdery?
I thought the same thing....it is a slight aftertaste of baking powder, which I noticed yesterday baking it a second time. Will try to add a little less next time and see if it still works.
i should have read further down in the comments before i made it. i had the same impression on the flavor and i had a leavening problem. i'll just reduce and try again. the coffee. cocoa, moisture, crust is great...
The original recipe is called Hersey's Black Magic Cake and it calls for 2 teaspoons of baking powder and 1 teaspoon of baking soda, which Kelsey has reversed.
Check your tin of baking powder—does it list "sodium aluminum sulfate". If it does then switch to an aluminum free brand (Rumfords) or make your own. Check out David Lebovitz's article for the reasons to switch & a recipe for making your own. ( http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2008/10/why-you-should-use-aluminum-free/ ). I can detect the taste but my hubby can't.
I happily join the ranks of cooks who love this cake. I too was a bit worried when i saw how runny the batter was but my concerns were unfounded. This cake is as chocolate-ty and pudding-ey as I had hoped and it will become a permanent member of my cake squad. I love it and can't wait to make it again and again. Thanks for sharing.
This was wonderful and significantly better than the classic Hershey "magic cake." I was very hesitant to have the mixer on medium for 4 minutes after the flour was added, but the gluten was fine and cake stayed tender. I used cake flour instead of all purpose and it was extremely light and moist. The texture is very similar to a cake mix, but the flavor has an authentic home made taste. Fantastic recipe, thanks for sharing.
i just made this cake and it was amazing. I made it in a bundt pan (instead of tube) which looked great and I drizzled it with caramel which was also kind of great looking. It was also easier than making brownies.
Kelsey, We love your cake, I made it today, too! I frost mine, like I mentioned before and make it in a sheet pan so my husband can take it covered to the office the next morning... Thank you for the recipe!
Wow, Kelsey - you've really been taking a lot of heat! So sorry about that. For several years, I worked culling through the thousands of entries for a popular, national recipe contest, narrowing down the entries to the top 10 for each state. Many, many people submitted recipes that they truly believed were "Grandma's original" or some other version of a long-followed family recipe. Certainly, most of those entrants could not have known they were entering some form of a published recipe or they wouldn't have done it, knowing they could quickly be disqualified.
Also, you are a regular, "founding" member of the Food52 world and those of us who have tried and enjoyed your recipes appreciate your sophisticated, creative and personal approach to food. I am so glad you share so much of your food personality with us! Thank you for that!
Soooo, the reason I signed on to add a comment is because I made your "plagiarized" (haha!) cake today and it is phenomenal!! I made 4 changes: (1) I used cake flour rather than all-purpose because that's what I had (2) I wanted TWO cakes with the work of one, so I baked the batter in 2 loaf pans, which I greased, lined the bottoms with parchment, greased that - changed the baking time to 40 minutes - came out perfectly (3) because I like to sneak extra nutrition in when I can, I added 1/4 c of wheat germ and, lastly, (4) I cooled the cakes in the pans for 10 minutes, finished cooling them on a rack, then poured over this icing while it was still warm: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Chocolate-Icing-101010 Absolutely delicious! :-)
I am glad to read this clarification. I commented about a recipe that I thought was my great aunt's because it was exactly the same ingredients as Kelsey's. Then I reread my notes and realized that they were notes I wrote down about 2 years ago as I watched The Food Network and Ina Garten making the cake. So, it is perfectly legal for me to use EXACTLY her ingredients, just as long as I write down her process in my own words? This is good news because when I concoct a recipe I research to the best of my ability that I am not copying any one's ideas. Watch your back, Thomas Keller!!
I'm no expert, but I would say the process should be yours, not someone else's in your own words.
I think we all have good intentions but the point is a legal one, so when you start the sentence with "I 'm no expert..." you have lost the point.
For anyone who missed this information from Lastnightsdinner, I think it's helpful to post it again: "Substantial literary expression in the form of an explanation or directions, is protected by U.S. Copyright law; a list of ingredients is not." I think home cooks don't know this; I certainly didn't. However, it explains a lot. How many of us have asked someone for a recipe, tried to follow it at home, and been disappointed in the results? It was the missing steps in the directions that made the difference (usually not intentionally. All home cooks have certain things they do without thinking.) Kelsey's directions are unique, thorough, copyrightable & deserving of praise.
Thank you all for your comments -- we're re-posting how we stand on this recipe, which you'll see (way down in the comments) we originally posted 11 months ago. We wanted to make sure it's still clear:
'Here at food52, we want to celebrate recipes and their history. As we note in our “About the Contests” page, recipes often get passed down and the original sources lost. This doesn’t mean that people don’t personalize these recipes, making them their own. The instructions in this recipe are quite different from the Hershey’s recipe, and bear the marks of experience. Recipes are not created out of thin air, but from lots of influences, and we encourage our community to share the stories behind their recipes. Because of the way recipes are shared and passed down, we’re not in favor of public accusations of plagiarism. Obviously, we don’t want plagiarism on the site, and that’s why we have a “Flag” button on every recipe. If you click on this, you can let us know if you’ve seen a recipe before, and this message will be sent directly to Merrill and Amanda, who will look into the situation and handle accordingly. So far, this system has worked very well.'
If you must give credit to any original creator of any recipe, all you need to do is look to the heavens, smile at the chance to eat a wonderful meal from a loving cook as "divine providence" and say a silent "thank you" to all those before us that had a tiny particle of themselves sprinkled into every single recipe out there. Now, can someone make me this cake? I pay retail.....
hello! if i may be so bold, i'd like to interject (and i apologize if i am blunt, but i am a jewish democrat from texas, and therefore known for my sass and volume!): i am an old school food52er, on the scene since practically the beginning, and i am SO proud to be part of this community. i have become close friends with so many of my fellow food52ers, from all over the country, and i've had the pleasure of being welcomed into their homes to cook in their kitchens. this is a very special thing. as food52 has grown we have learned from and grown close to so many new home chefs, but with the growth, i have noticed a certain hostility in some users-- a certain party-pooperness if you will. this behavior is simply unacceptable, as it isn't constructive or helpful in any way. i consider myself an artist, and i believe that my peers (fellow contributors) are beautiful and talented artists as well. that being said, rule number one: FOOD IS LOVE. so keep your hate in your own kitchen, not in ours. also, there are lots of great home cooks at food52, but, i think we can all agree on rule number two: AMANDA AND MERRILL ARE EXPERTS AND THEREFORE THEIR OPINIONS ARE SUPERIOR. THIS MEANS THAT WE TRUST THEM TO RESEARCH, TEST, AND DECIDE WHICH RECIPES ARE WORTHY OF PRAISE. plus, it's their website, and their cookbook, don't you think they know what they want? plainly put, your insolence is disrespectful. and while i do not personally know kelseythenaptimechef (and truthfully, i voted for nannydeb's cake in this contest, because i will vote in anything with ganache), i do know that if A&M decided this was an original recipe, and a delicious one, and it was voted in by the food52 community, than she is a well deserved winner and most certainly does not deserve this appalling behavior. i think the intention was to make kelsey look "lame" but i think the result was quite the opposite. as my name clearly states, i am a nanny, and have made a living and a blog out of teaching children manners, etiquette, and love. it's embarrassing to have to speak to adults in this way, but there you have it. please consider new rules one and two in this comment, as i think they will be helpful.
sincerely, warmest regards, and, as always, happy cooking, helenthenanny
Well said.
Also, if I might also add, cooking and recipes are always being swapped from one to another. A chef can be inspired by a dish he or she eats elsewhere and when they recreate it, they aren't stealing a recipe. Baking recipes tend to be harder to modify, because chemistry is chemistry and a certain volume of liquid requires a certain amount of leavening. Also our baking pans are standardized, so similar recipes tend to use the same amounts of eggs, leaveners, etc.
Kelsey's version of the recipe calls for beating the batter for a full four minutes which, from a gluten-development standpoint, will have a very different impact than the two minutes called for in the Hershey recipe. Also, as anyone who's baked before can likely agree, no recipe guarantees success: it's up to the cook preparing it.
I think it's funny that no one's calling Ina out for using the Hershey recipe without attribution. If I was going to cast stones (which I am not) I would way more irritated at a professional cookbook writer taking a previously published recipe as her own (I should say I haven't Ina's version, so I can't judge how verbatim it is.)
Finally, as Helen says - this site, and cooking in general, are about being supportive of each other and constructive with our comments. I have found wonderful friends here. No "yes-men" who tell me everything I do is wonderful, but people whom I can have an exchange of ideas and inspirations. Food *is* love and I think it's wonderful that so many can approach a site built around a competition with such strong sense of community.
Now, I'm off to the kitchen!
Amen, sister!
Here here! My sentiments exactly. If you can't say something nice...
Kelsey - I appreciate your response. However, this is a website that solicits and rewards "original" recipes. This is Food 52's stated policy - "You may only submit recipes that are your own. If your recipe was inspired by another source, that's okay — just tell us how you changed it. We'd love for the inspiration behind your recipes to be part of the conversation. Plagiarism, however, is not encouraged. If you plagiarize, people will call you out and you'll look lame." By your own admission, this was not your own recipe, but rather that of Chef you knew, in that's chef's own handwriting no less. And yet, you chose to submit it here as your own.
Maggie, I am well aware of the rules for submission to Food52. My friend and I adapted a recipe over time, making notes and changes and that is what I submitted in my own words. I have no more to say on this topic. If you have further questions you can address them to Amanda and Merrill directly.
You may want to review the Contest Rules: http://www.food52.com/contests/about_contests I think it's fairly clear that Kelsey's recipe falls well within the guidelines established by A&M. "[S]ubstantial literary expression in the form of an explanation or directions," is protected by U.S. Copyright law; a list of ingredients is not. Kelsey did indicate in her notes at the top, and in numerous responses to comments here, how her version of this recipe evolved over time and where the original came from, and that should be sufficient to put any accusations of plagiarism to rest.
You tweaked and changed things and ended up with exactly the same cake as Hersey's and Ina Garten???
hi bakingmaggie and thelastcourse, i submitted a comment (above) that i hope you will find helpful! happy cooking : )
The cake is also on Hersey's website. They published it at least 50 years ago as Black Magic Cake. You should have done some research before you submitted as an original recipe. And shame on food 52 for making you a published winner.
This recipe has been around the block for sure! I first used it in 1992 at my very first job in a rinky-dink restaurant in a small town. Definitely good so why not let it make its rounds!!
here here!
Unfortunately, this recipe appears verbatim (with 1 teaspoon salt, instead of 1/2 teaspoon) as "Beatty's Chocolate Cake" in Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa at Home, published in 2006.
We've learned over time that this recipe has appeared in many different places in many different iterations. It was first presented to my friend Hilary from a chef at her favorite restaurant in 2001 as a "top secret cake recipe" and she gave it to me when we worked together in 2002. The two of us have been making it ever since, not realizing that it was, in fact, adapted from other sources. I assure you that I've been in possession of the xerox of the handwritten recipe from the chef for almost a decade now! I am not surprised it is in Ina's book, she knows a good cake recipe when she see's it!
I have no idea how my brain substituted 1 cup plain yogurt for 1 cup sour/butter milk but holy moly! This was the most sensational chocolate cake I've ever had! I've gone through many chocolate cake recipes searching for my go-to and now I've found it. Incredibly moist, smooth and chocolately. It makes you dream of chocolate cake. I made it last week in a bundt pan and my office friends were in heaven. Then I made it this weekend as cupcakes and they received rave reviews. (350F for 18 minutes)
Kelsey, do you have any suggestions on how to modify this recipe to make a yellow cake? Just omit the cocoa or replace it with flour? And replace the coffee with boiling water per someone else's suggestion?
Hi! Hmm, the yellow cake is a good question. Omit the cocoa but probably replace it with some flour and add vanilla extract or almond extract since you would eliminate the coffee as well. That might be a good question for Foodpickle!
I have always thought about this substitution too but for some reason never experimented. Let us know if someone comes up with something....if I don't try it soon. :)
The promise of a puddingy texture had me itching to try this out. Last night I went at it. I didn't have Dutch process cocoa so I used Trader Joe's organic. I used 1% milk with lemon juice as my sour milk then dumped the more-runny-than-I-expected batter into a 9 x 13 glass baking dish. The result? Absolute deliciousness - moist and pudding-like as promised.
I can barely stand to wait to eat the piece that's sitting next to my computer monitor at work, but I must hold off until after lunch.
I am so glad you like it!
I just made this cake last night, except that I made it the traditional way with 2 layers and chocolate-coffee frosting. I know that the bundt cake was your idea, but my version from my great aunt is exactly the same ingredients!
I'm trying this as a 2 layer cake, it's baking right now. What temp and time do you bake it at? I popped it in at 350 degrees and the edges are baking very quickly, leaving me quite concerned for not taking temp into consideration before jumping in this boat. eh...
Hi I've never used sour milk before, do I strain it after the curds develop or do I pour the milk and the curds when mixing it to make the batter? Also, do I store the finished cake in the fridge or outside? Sorry for all the questions but I want to make it for a friend's birthday and I want it to come out as delicious as it looks here.
Thanks to all for your input.
Sour milk = buttermilk OR for every 1 cup of regular milk add, 1 tsp lemon juice or vinegar; let sit 10-15 min. Curds won't form, just adds acidity.
Cake is fine left out at room temp. Chilled is fine too and will become just slightly more dense if cold.
Just make sure you grease whatever pan you use because this recipe sticks.
Great cake! I wonder though if rather than bundt pan this should be called tube pan?
I have been playing with different choco cake recipes for too long...this one is a keeper. I made it with buttermilk instead of sour and Hershey's special dark cocoa, baked it in a quartet bundt pan for 20 minutes. It's glorious! Drizzled with bittersweet choco. I asked a friend to sample it and he couldn't stop eating it. I plan on giving these little cakes to my husband's co-workers for Christmas. Thanks for the awesome cake!
I love hearing about your modifications, I bet it was delicious!
This was deliciously rich and complex. I'll definitely make this again.
I have been using this same recipe for YEARS! I got it from a bakery I used to work at. Funny to see that it is posted here on this site some 16 years later! It's a great recipe and so easy to prepare. Never made it into a Bundt though. Will have to try that.
It seems this recipe has made the rounds and we all do it differently! enjoy!
I halved the recipe and baked it in a 9" pan, and it's delish! i love how intense and not-sweet it is. Also it's so extremely easy to put together :) I'm looking forward to the fudge-like texture it'll develop tomorrow.
Next time i'll try adding some boiled-down stout beer instead of the coffee, that seemed to work really well in intensifying the chocolatey flavor in another chocolate cake recipe.
I made your cake this weekend. Exceptional! I was a few tablespoons short on cocoa powder (w/ no time to run to the store) so I added 3-4 ounces of melted bittersweet chocolate. Worked out great. Thanks for sharing!
I made the cake yesterday and do agree that on the second day it's even better! Looks great, tastes great and very easy to make! Thank you, definitely staying in my book.
That is great gele, so glad you enjoyed it!
I made this fabulous cake last night to take to a friend's dinner party. OMG it was fabulous! Looks just like your photo and my husband called it "professional". We served it with a bit of hazelnut ice cream and it was divine. I will make it again and serve it with a glaze, frosting or whipped cream.
We took a little piece home with us, which I just ate along with my breakfast. It is more delicious the second day. Next time I'll bake the cake, frost it, keep in the refrigerator overnight before serving.
THANK YOU!!
I am so thrilled you liked it Jill!
Yum cake, we didn't find it party material though. Thanks for sharing.
I made this last weekend and it was the best cake I've ever made. It was also able to withstand a wacky oven temperature and me trying out egg replacer in cake for the first time. It was absolutely delicious, and will definitely form part of my dinner party/holiday repertoire. And I am not even a chocolate lover! Thank you so much for sharing!
I am thrilled you liked it meg! I've found it forgiving too, I've made it all over the place and it doesn't change much with all the different ovens I've used. Enjoy it over the holidays!
I was lucky enough to be invited to the birthday party hosted by iuzzini where she served this cake and wow, it was delicious!
When the guests write in you know it was a hit. So glad you enjoyed!
Made this last nite to serve for a birthday party tonite. :) It's delish (so I tasted the bits that got stuck to the top of pan.) Thanks for a great recipe!!! This is going to be my go-to chocolate cake recipe. Thanks!
I am so glad to hear this, I use it as my go-to as well. Enjoy!
I was afraid none of my guests had room for dessert after the Moroccan Chicken and Olives recipe on this site (wonderful!) but no one could pass up this delectable cake. Thanks for the instruction about souring milk. This was a fabulous dessert. I made it the day before and it was moist and superb with ginger yogurt. A keeper!
I am so glad you liked it Karen!! The ginger yogurt on the side sounds wonderful!
Notes on making the cake.
I used non-dutch process cocoa and a pinch extra of baking soda- it turned out fine. The cake is better the next day- fresh from the oven it still was a bit airy and the next day it settled into a rich, thick velvety texture. Also, the cake isn't that sweet so putting a very generous amount of powdered sugar is nice.
Wow, this looks FANTASTIC!! I adore chocolate and the cake looks so moist and delicious.
Joining the chorus of positive reviews, I have to say that this cake is *excellent*. Although, I have to say that when I dusted my cake with the powdered sugar, it was completely absorbed since it was still a little warm. Oops. Still rich as sin, though. Two definite thumbs up!
Hi Kelsey, I made this into cupcakes with butterflies (from Annies-eats, though mine weren't quite as pretty as hers...) and they were a huge hit. The recipe worked well made into cupcakes baking them for about 12-15 minutes. Thanks!
Made this for a labor day event. It went in seconds.
It's milk that's been curdled with vinegar or lemon juice. You can easily make it in one step.
This is fantastically delicious. Easy, too. The batter seemed very thin, but I don't make cakes enough to know if that's normal. Thin or no, the batter turned into a beautiful and tasty cake that has been getting raves from my children and grandchildren, who join me in thanking you for the recipe.
P.S. I used a simple buttermilk/powdered sugar frosting that works beautifully.
Fun addition for the frosting, glad it was a hit!
I made this cake last weekend and I was thrilled when it looked like the picture ( which is what seduced me in the first place). It was a big hit!
I would recommend making it the day before - it was even more moist and delicious on day 2 and 3 (I wrapped it up and stored it in the fridge)
Good idea!
All I can say is Yummmm! Kids love it, adults love it, I made it twice in one week toward the end of school for various occasions.....I've never seen cake disappear SO quickly!!
I am so glad you enjoyed it- it does disappear quickly!
Hi Kelsey, I was MIA from this site for a short time and missed this cake...YUM, can't wait to get the opportunity to make it!
Just to add to the general chorus...made this last night, and it was dark and luscious chocolate goodness. Could not believe how incredibly easy it was. The texture is outstanding, soft and melts in the mouth.
I am so glad you like it!
I made this for a friend's birthday and iced it with Amanda's sour cream--chocolate icing from her chocolate dump-it cake. It was amazing and special with the icing (although it is wonderful without, too)!
I love the idea of adding Amanda's frosting, I am a big fan of the Dump-It cake, too, I best it was delicious!
I've made this twice now (the latest cake is in the oven as I type) and I just wanted to add two things. First, it is incredibly moist and delicious! Second, my bundt pan (which has two parts) leaks during the initial 10 minutes of baking as the batter is very liquidy. I recommend placing a cookie on the lower rack to catch the drips.
Yes, the batter is very liquidy, great idea to add a drip pan!
I made this this week for a friend's birthday and it got rave reviews. I used a cup of whole yogurt instead of buttermilk; it seemed to work fine. i think next time I might scatter some chopped dark chocolate on top of the batter before it goes in the oven. Thanks for the recipe!
Mmm, I love the idea of scattering some chocolate on top!
Hi! I'm thinking of making this for my college grad party. 2 questions: to frost or not to frost? And what is a light frosting or glaze you've used that you recommend, ifa ny?
And secondly, is the recipe adaptable for a regular cake size pan, in the case that I want to frost and write on it?
Hi! Congrats on graduation! I've never made it into a layer cake so I'm not sure how it would go. When I frosted it in the past I used a basic cream cheese frosting. I liked the tang of the cream cheese with the rich chocolate. I also did a chocolate glaze once but personally felt like it was too much chocolate in one bite. A nice vanilla glaze or orange glaze would probably taste really good. Does this help? Good luck, enjoy it!
Thank you so much for sharing this beautiful, delicious cake! I've made it three times since I first came across the recipe 2 months ago. I plan on making it for my own birthday cake! I love how dark and moist the cake is, without being achingly sweet. Keep up the excellent cooking!
I was sucked in by the picture but then I read the recipe and realized how similar it is to a cake I grew up on - only that recipe has no eggs! My recipe came from the 1973 American Heart Association cookbook and it has been made so many times the book naturally opens to the page - cocoa spatters and all! The name of that recipe is Black Devil's Food Cake and has similar amounts of flour, sugar, cocoa powder, cooking oil, buttermilk and coffee. It has salt and baking soda but no baking powder and no eggs! The mixture is extremely soupy, as the last step is to pour boiling coffee over the top of the cake batter, but the baked cake is wonderful! It's very moist and has great mouth feel. My family has made it for all of our birthdays since 1973! And today even my kids like it.
I can't wait to give this one a try to see how it compares. I'm thinking it will be a little less moist but I'll have to find out!
I accidently submitted a recipe that was on a can of condensed milk (first time using condensed milk) that I thought was my mother's original recipe...I was sooo embarrassed and luckily immediately removed it soon after submittal. I google and do everything I can to make sure that I am not submiting anything that is close to another recipe!
Great cake, but I've been making it for years...
http://www.hersheys.com/recipes/recipes/detail.asp?id=4754&page=1&per=25&keyword=black%20magic&omnituresearch=true&rectypecat=
Dear Friends, I assure you that this is a case of recipes being handed down from person to person that may have had origins about which I was unaware. I believe that the passing down of recipes often means that something like this occasionally happens - a recipe from one friend is similar to a printed recipe found elsewhere, especially when it has passed through 3 people written on paper and recipe cards. I just got off the phone with my friend Hilary and she described in detail the way this cake started for us - she tasted something at restaurant and the chef gave her a basic ingredient list stating "oil is better than butter, beat the batter for a full 4 minutes, bake in a bundt pan." She worked on the recipe and then gave it to me - we still have our spattered copies. If this was in fact the origin than I assure you I had no idea, we thought it was the chef's recipe but now have no way of knowing where he found it since the restaurant is long gone. I wish I didn't have to write a comment like this, but I assure you I submitted this recipe with the full understanding that Hilary and I had worked out a recipe tasted elsewhere that I thought would be wonderful to share with the Food52 community and nothing more than that. -Kelsey
Here at food52, we want to celebrate recipes and their history. As we note in our “About the Contests” page, recipes often get passed down and the original sources lost. This doesn’t mean that people don’t personalize these recipes, making them their own. The instructions in this recipe are quite different from the Hershey’s recipe, and bear the marks of experience. Recipes are not created out of thin air, but from lots of influences, and we encourage our community to share the stories behind their recipes.
Because of the way recipes are shared and passed down, we’re not in favor of public accusations of plagiarism. Obviously, we don’t want plagiarism on the site, and that’s why we have a “Flag” button on every recipe. If you click on this, you can let us know if you’ve seen a recipe before, and this message will be sent directly to Merrill and Amanda, who will look into the situation and handle accordingly. So far, this system has worked very well.
Sadly, just finished the last slice of this cake. It was ridiculously tasty (with a dollop of barely sweetened whipped cream). Thanks for a great recipe!
I made this cake, finally, this weekend and it was a fantastic success (especially two days later with a dollop of coffee ice cream). Thanks for the recipe!
I couldn't find any dutch processed cocoa- can I substitute natural, unsweetened cocoa powder and then should I leave out the baking powder and baking soda?
I was so excited to see this recipe that I went out and bought a bundt pan so I could make it. A Valentine's day present to myself! I do plan on sharing the cake, however.
That is an excellent valentine's day gift! :)
Nice bundt! I made this for friends last night and it was so perfectly moist and chocolaty. Will definitely make again.
Congrats! Looks like you are making a clean sweep of all the sweet contests. :-)
Thanks! And congrats to you, too! Clearly my sweet tooth and my love of baking are on full display here at food52!
Congratulations, Kelsey! The cake looks beautiful (your photography too) and I can't wait to make this for my family. They're going to love it!
Congratulations, Kelsey! Brava! I love the cake, love you for entering it here on Food52... despite the gazillion extra calories in my week. This recipe's gonna get a lot of mileage.
THanks! I hope you enjoy it, it is definitely worth the calories!
Congrats!
Delicious - great flavor and texture. Wonder if it will be even better tomorrow..... it took more like 30 minutes to make batter, but it was worth it. is buttermilk a reasonable substitute for sour milk? and have you ever added some semi-sweet choc chips for texture.
thanks for a great bundt cake for chocolate lovers!
I've toyed with the idea of adding mini-chocolate chips or finely chopped chocolate, I bet it would be great! I think buttermilk might work as well as sour milk, but I've never done it before.
YES! You did it! Well done, congratulations! It's a terrific recipe of which I have become a fan! Really really good. Well done Kelsey, I am very happy for you, you really deserve it!
Thanks Maria! I am so glad you like it and have added it to your repertoire!
Kelsey - congratulations! Wonderful recipe!
This cake sounds divine. MUST try. Have you tried it as a layer cake or just as a bundt? Either way, it really sounds good. VERY good. Happy to vote for it.
I made this cake yesterday with soy milk because it was all I had in the house and it turned out great. I added a little lemon juice and yogurt to sour the soy milk. Yummy and easy although I think I would frost it next time.
That's great to know that soy milk will work. Thanks for letting us know!
Kelsey, I love this recipe. This is really wonderful and I know it will be a hit at the party. I realized that I've never cooked with chocolate before so I was a little apprehensive, but this was easy and quick, and people who don't bake often (me) will be successful!
Kelsey, made your cake on Sunday, it's absolutely delicious. Congratulations!
I've been asked to bring a dessert for a dinner party on Tuesday. I know I will be short on time, so this sounds like it will be perfect. I can't wait to try it.
I am glad the A+M pointed it out, the batter really does come to together quickly so this is a wonderful decadent dessert to make when you don't have a lot of time to bake. It also looks pretty for serving with the powdered sugar on top, and you can put a fresh dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of good vanilla ice-cream on the side for a finishing touch. Enjoy!
I did something very wrong in making this cake as it really imploded in the middle and started to spill out the edges. But it tastes really great...I'm eating it straight out of the pan and can't stop!
Okay, I think I figured out my mistake. I used about 1/2 cup creme fraiche and 1/2 cup whole milk instead of the 1 cup 'sour milk'. I assume the vinegar in the sour milk has some reaction with the soda which my concoction lacked. Thought it might be useful for others to know.
I've had baking implosions when experimenting with recipes, too! In this case, this recipe definitely needs an acidic component for the leavening which is the reason for the sour milk. I make sour milk using plain vinegar, but a lot of people use the lemon juice method which is equally as successful. I am glad it still tasted good, though!
I'm happy to report that I made a second one that turned out just fine. Took it to a dinner party and everyone enjoyed having a slice (or two) with sweetened whipped cream.
Am settling in to bake this as Snowpocalypse descends on Washington DC. Will it fuel us through shoveling out from 30" of snow? Stay tuned...And on a practical note, do I have to cool the "freshly brewed coffee" before using it? Guess I'll find out.
Sorry to reply so late! Let it cool so it is warm, but not to hot, like you would if you were to be able to sip it. It doesn't have to be room temp. Good luck and enjoy the snow! :)
Kelsey, This reminds me of a recipe I've made for years as my kids' favorite layered birthday cake, the oil, buttermilk, coffee and gads of cocoa powder making for a moist, rich and delicious chocolate bomb. I'm so happy to now have this scaled down and more "adult" version to try. Thanks!
Chocolate bomb is an excellent description. I hope you enjoy this version, too!
Kelsey, what I love about this recipe is that it's almost as simple as using a boxed cake mix, but much more delicious.
Thanks! Yes, it is a relatively simple cake which has always been part of the appeal to me. You really can throw it together pretty quickly!
Kelsey, congratulations, the cake looks super simple and now with Amanda's and Merril's description, I am really tempted to try it this weekend. Well done you.
Thanks Maria!
this is such a versatile cake!I love it! Am assuming you add the sugar with the rest of the dry ingredients....
I ask because my mother in law used to make something similar, but with 1/2 c butter instead of oil and boiling water instead of coffee. Also in hers there was no baking powder. She'd cream the butter,sugar,eggs and vanilla first, then add cocoa, salt, flour and sour milk( she used vinegar like you do). When all of the above was well blended she'd add the 1c boiling water to which the baking soda had been added. She baked hers in a 9x12 pan and frosted with cream cheese frosting once cooled.It wasn't as pretty as yours but easy to cover or transport to a picnic etc...
What an interesting technique! Yes, add the sugar with the dry ingredients.
Such a great rainy day cake! and it just happens to be raining here..hmmm!
Kelsey - This is just beautiful. I can't wait to try it this weekend. (A perfect snowstorm cake!)
Thanks Cathy! I hope you enjoy it, and the snow as well. :)
This looks super easy and delicious with the coffee. 2 cups of sugar??? Does that mean this is super sweet or does that amount offset the amount of coffee that's in here? I'm really curious to try this out in my springform pan...no bundt pan in the house.
The coffee and sour milk offset the sweetness a bit, it sounds like a lot of sugar but it really balances out. I've never made it in a springform pan, I hope it holds all of the batter. Do you have a tube pan? That would work just as well.
Thanks! I hope you enjoy it. And many congratulations to you too, your recipe looks amazing!
Thanks so much!
Congrats on making the finals. I had a feeling when I saw this entry... good things were in store. Good luck! I know I'll be baking this soon. I have another cake recipe that uses coffee to boost the flavor, and it's yummy. With A&M's stamp of approval, I'm sure this one is fabulous.
Thanks so much! I hope you enjoy it!
Looks incredibly delicious. You'd think I'd be tired of chocolate a marathon week of testing them for my husband's birthday cake, but that's not the case!
LOL! I still love that picture of your daughter staring at the cake... it's kind of the way I look at this cake when it comes out of the oven! Have fun with the birthday celebration, I'm sure his cake will be amazing!
yum. this looks like a winner Kelsey!
Kelsey, waht a brilliant cake. Fantastic. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Oh, sounds lovely. My mom and I used to make a similar cake when I was growing up, except we added chocolate chips to the batter and left the top plain. Loved that cake!
Chocolate Chips would be a great addition to this!
How about using buttermilk? I love the simplicity of this cake. It's elegant and not too sweet. Might have to bake one today!
@LaureYee and @Tastefood - I've never tried buttermilk but I think it might have a similar effect as sour milk. I also agree, one of the things I like about this cake is that it is not overly sweet.
I think the sour milk interacts with the baking soda and helps with the levening. I have made many a chocolate cakes, searching fruitlessly with the perfect recipe and I have to say this one looks pretty fabulous. Can you use buttermilk? Too bad all you can find these days is the skim kind. Ick.
What is sour milk? Is it milk gone bad or milk with lemon in it? If it is the former do you leave it out of the fridge???
I make sour milk by putting 1 t. plain vinegar in a cup of whole milk. then let it sit at room temp for about 10 minutes until it starts to curdle, then you can use it for baking. Do NOT use spoiled milk from the fridge!! :) There are other ways of making sour milk - perhaps A+M can weigh in on those - but this method has always worked for me.
You can also use 1 t. lemon juice in a cup of whole milk and let sit until the curds develop - about 10-15 min. I think the reason you do this is the eggs, when in a batter that also incorporates milk or cream, need a certain acid level in the batter to set up so you have a cake instead of pudding. I don't know what the acid level needs to be but am assuming that's why it calls for sour milk instead of regular. Some recipes address this by using yogurt. Kelsey-this looks like a wonderful recipe! I'm definitely going to try it. Thanks for posting.
Thanks...I wasn't really serious about the milk left out in a warm room to go bad...I thought that it was lemon added to milk...
Thanks @ChezSuzanne, the milk addition of the acid to the milk definitely has to do with levening. Glad to know the lemon juice trick works well, I've heard of it but haven't done it myself.
Wow, Kelsey, that looks gorgeous.
Thanks! It's a dangerous picture though, posting it today made me want to make the cake again soon...
Is there a standard size bundt pan? What size is right for this recipe?
Hi. If I left out the coffee would I have to add a different liquid? What should I add? Thanks.
Has anyone tried this recipe in one of those fancy Nordicware pans?
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Yet another recipe contemplation...
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Only organic milk in Amanda's house! This brand is quite good.
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Amanda coats the inside of a tube pan (our bundt pan was in use) with butter and an even coating of cocoa powder.
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Getting the ingredients all laid out -- they go into the mixer in quick succession.
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Amanda digs in the cupboard for something we've forgotten (not unusual).
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Adding the dry ingredients a little at a time.
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Once all of the ingredients are incorporated, you beat the cake for 4 full minutes. This gives the cake its unique, dense texture.
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While the batter mixes, we survey the dish situation. Not too bad for this late in the day!
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Pouring batter is fun!
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It looks so dark and mysterious once it's in the pan.
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And even more so when it comes out of the oven.
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Here we pause, mid-cake extraction, for Amanda to tell a shockingly funny story about her childhood. What happens at food52 stays at food52.
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Removing a cake from a tube pan can sometimes be a three-person job.
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Thanks to Amanda's excellent method, the cake slips right off the tube. Et voila!
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since there is baking soda in this recipe, can I substitute regular (ie., Hershey's) not dutch process coca powder?