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Devil’s Food Cake With Black Pepper Buttercream

5.0(684)

Like all the best devil’s food cakes, this six-layer beauty has a deeply fudgy flavor and a light and feathery texture. In between the tender cake layers, a black pepper and vanilla buttercream creates a soft and creamy contrast to the dense fudge frosting on the top and sides. With six layers and two frostings, this cake is definitely a project, but one well worth making if you want to impress. And you can make it in stages. The frostings can be made up to a week ahead and stored in the refrigerator. Bring them to room temperature and briefly beat with an electric mixer before assembling the cake. The cake layers themselves can be baked a day ahead. Store them, well-wrapped, at room temperature.

by Melissa Clark

Open original recipe

Project, Dessert

Servings

10 servings

Total time

2h 30m

Calories / serving

1343 kcal

Ingredients (22)

serves

10 tablespoons/140 grams unsalted butter, softened, more for greasing pansbutter
2/3 cup/70 grams unsweetened natural (not Dutch-processed) cocoa powder, more for pans
3/4 cup/180 milliliters whole milkmilk
2 cups/200 grams cake flourflour
1 1/2 teaspoons/10 grams baking soda
1/2 teaspoon/3 grams baking powder
1/2 teaspoon/3 grams kosher salt, more as neededsalt
1 3/4 cups/350 grams granulated sugarsugar
3 large eggsegg
2 teaspoons/10 milliliters vanilla extract
5 large egg whitesegg
1 cup/200 grams granulated sugarsugar
Large pinch kosher saltsalt
3 sticks plus 2 tablespoons/365 grams unsalted butter, softenedbutter
1 vanilla bean pod, split lengthwise, seeds scrapedvanilla
1 teaspoon/5 grams coarsely ground black pepperpepper
1 1/2 cups/300 grams granulated sugarsugar
1 cup/240 milliliters heavy creamcream
Pinch kosher saltsalt
6 ounces/170 grams unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
8 tablespoons/112 grams unsalted butter, dicedbutter
2 teaspoons/10 milliliters vanilla extract

01Make the cake: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 3 8-inch round baking pans, line the bottoms of each with a round of parchment paper and grease the paper. Use a little cocoa powder to coat the insides of the pans, rotating pans so the cocoa comes up the sides, then tap out excess.
02In a small bowl, whisk together cocoa powder and 2/3 cup boiling water. Whisk in milk. In a separate bowl, whisk together cake flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
03In a large mixing bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, until incorporated. Beat in vanilla. With the mixer running on low speed, beat in a third of the dry ingredients, followed by half the cocoa mixture. Add remaining portions, alternating between two mixtures. Beat until smooth.
04Divide batter evenly among prepared pans. Bake until the centers of the cakes are firm to the touch, 30 to 40 minutes. Cool cakes in their pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes; turn them out onto the rack to cool completely. (Peel off parchment paper if it sticks to the cakes.)
05Make the buttercream: Fill a medium pot halfway with water (or use a double-boiler) and bring to a simmer. In a heatproof bowl that fits over pot, whisk together egg whites, sugar and salt. Cook, whisking constantly, until the sugar dissolves and mixture reaches 140 degrees on a candy or instant-read thermometer, about 5 minutes.
06Using an electric mixer, whip until completely cooled and thick, about 5 minutes. Beat in butter a little at a time, until the frosting is smooth and spreadable. Beat in vanilla bean seeds and pepper.
07Using a serrated knife, slice each cake in half horizontally. Place one bottom layer on a large platter or cake stand. Top evenly with a thin layer of buttercream. Repeat, alternating between cake and frosting, ending with a layer of cake. Cover cake loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate while you prepare fudge frosting. (Cake can rest in the refrigerator for up to 1 day.)
08Make the frosting: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, heavy cream and salt. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until sugar completely dissolves, about 5 minutes. Scrape mixture into a bowl. Stir in chocolate, butter and vanilla until smooth. Set bowl over a larger bowl filled with ice. Use a hand mixer or an immersion blender with the whisk attachment to whip until mixture is thick and cool, about 5 minutes. Spread frosting over the top and sides of the cake.