Husband celebrated a birthday this weekend, and per his request, I baked a Devil’s Food Cake for him. As we enjoyed the delicious chocolate cake, with a dollop of vanilla ice cream, of course, my 11-year-old asked, “Why is it called ‘Devil’s Food’?”
Why indeed? The Word Nerd investigated the origin of the Devil’s Food cake, and here’s what I found:
No one really knows.
Some think it was named the opposite of “Angel Food Cake”, as it is opposite in flavor and texture. Some think it’s called Devil’s Food because it is full of sinful chocolate. Some suggest that the more indulgent a dessert sounds, the more we like it, so that’s why it’s got the Devil in its name. (See this Huffington Post article)
Devil’s Food Cake is a dark, dense cake that was originally mild, but people made it more “sinful” by adding more chocolate. It’s richer than regular chocolate cake. It usually has a reddish color caused by a chemical reaction between the cocoa powder and baking soda used in traditional recipes. (If you really want to be nerdy, you should know that cocoa in an acid environment looks brown, but cocoa in an alkaline environment has a mahogany color; Dutch cocoa is highly alkaline, and when used makes the cake look even more red.)
It’s similar to red velvet cake, except red velvet uses a white frosting, while Devil’s Food has a chocolate frosting. (I used chocolate fudge on husband’s).
According to Cooksinfo.com, Devil’s Food Cake originated in the southern United States. The first printed recipe appeared in 1902, in Sarah Tyson Rorer’s book, Mrs. Rorer’s New Cook Book. This original recipe used melted chocolate and baking powder, unlike the modern version, which calls for cocoa and baking soda.
I used this recipe, found via Pinterest, and the family loved the result: Issac’s Fabulous Devil’s Food Cake.
Do you have a chocolate cake recipe you love? Or, do you know anything about the origin of Devil’s Food Cake?
Thanks for getting nerdy with me!
It is my educated guess, that even if you cant find the answer to this question it is written in history, not specifically about the cake but from the origin of chocolate, or cacao. Cacao comes from the Aztecs, who used it in rituals to receive powers from their gods and it was also used for healing properties. If researched, you also find that people who used herbs and such were called witch doctors. When cacao was brought to Europe, royalty would also drink cacao to receive the mystic powers of Aztec gods. In conclusion it is my guess that somewhere along the line all these facts were considered to give the cake its name. But don’t take my word for it.
Interesting… thanks for adding to the discussion!
I always assumed the name was because it was sinfully delicious! But it must be eaten with ice cream or a tall glass of milk.
Happy belated birthday to your husband! Mine requests yellow cake, chocolate icing for his birthday.
I LOVE yellow cake, chocolate icing! That’s always my choice, too. And I agree on the side of milk or ice cream; Devil’s Food is too rich without it.
YUM.