Chocolate Cake Recipe

Devil's Food Cake (Chocolate Layer Cake)

2 cups of sifted flour

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1/2 teaspoon of salt

10 tablespoons (1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons) of unsweetened cocoa

1/2 cup (150 grams) of butter

1 cup of sifted white sugar

3 egg yolks

1 cup of brown sugar

1 cup of milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
3 egg whites

1. Preheat the oven to moderate (175º C/ 350º F) Have the ingredients at room temperature.

2. Resift the flour with the baking soda, salt and cocoa.

3. In a large bowl, beat the butter until soft. Gradually add the white sugar. Add the flour to the butter mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the water, milk and vanilla. Stir the batter until smooth after each addition.

4. Whip the egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold them lightly into the cake batter. Bake in 2 greased medium-sized pans for about 25 minutes. Spread, when cool, with Chocolate Fudge Icing, placing one cake on top of the other with a layer of icing between them.

Note: If powdered chocolate is used instead of unsweetened cocoa, use much less sugar.

 Chocolate Fudge (Chocolate Candy)

1 cup (minus 2 tablespoons) of whole milk

2 cups of white sugar

A pinch of salt

6 tablespoons of cocoa (unsweetened chocolate powder)

4 to 6 tablespoons (50 – 75 grams) of butter, in two portions

1 teaspoons of vanilla extract

½ to 1 cup of nut meats, broken (optional)

1. Bring the milk to a boil in a large, heavy saucepan. Remove from the heat and remove any “skin” that may have formed. Mix in the sugar, Salt, cocoa, and 2 tablespoons of the butter, stirring until dissolved. Return to a boil and simmer, covered, 2 to 3 minutes until any crystals that may have formed are washed down from the sides of the pan. Uncover and cook a little more. With a wooden spoon, stir just enough to keep the Fudge from burning.

2. Cook to the soft stage (115ºC /238ºF if you have a candy thermometer). To test for the soft ball stage, drop about ½ teaspoon of the candy into a glass of ice water.  It forms a ball that can just be picked up, but will collapse when removed from the water. Use fresh water for each testing. When testing the fudge, remove the post for the heat to avoid bringing it to the next stage of crystallization.

3. Remove from the heat without stirring and let cool enough so that the bottom of the pot can be handled comfortably (45ºC/ 110ºF). Add the remaining 2 to 4 tablespoons of the butter and beat the Fudge. Add the vanilla and beat vigorously until it is a good consistency to spread. Add the nuts, if desired.

Klie, Virginia, in: Not just hamburgers! - Aprenda inglês com as melhores receitas da cozinha americana, São Paulo, Disal, 2003.