Devil’s Food Cake with Mocha Frosting

Let me start this by saying that I really am not a baker. Baking is not my expertise, but it is something I continually try to practice. Devil’s food cake, in particular, is one that I’ve been wanting to master. I’m happy to report that I have finally done it—after so many failed attempts!

What inspired the making of this delicious cake? Well, I’ll be honest. I had finally hit over 1,000 followers on Instagram, and I wanted to celebrate. Chocolate cake felt like the perfect way to do that.

I hate the word “hustle,” but it’s the only word that comes to mind when I think of how hard I’ve been working on my content. Hitting 1,000 followers may not seem like much for most people on such a huge social platform. But for someone like me, who’s been “hustling” for so many years, this was a huge milestone. I immediately decided that devil’s food cake was the way to celebrate such an occasion, especially one with a mocha frosting and crushed Oreos on top!

My first attempt making devil’s food cake was an absolute fail. I had attempted to make it for an Easter gathering we had earlier this year, and it really did not go well. I made a frosting that tasted more like vegetable oil than sugar (which took almost 6 cups of extra powdered sugar to fix), and the layers of cake literally kept sliding off the plate. Although my friends humored me and ate the crazy looking cake (I mean, it didn’t taste that bad), I knew I needed to redeem the experience. This one certainly did!

Let me be clear, I’m not making cakes from scratch all the time. I’m a huge fan of cake box mixes and cake frostings. But this felt like a special occasion that called for a homemade devil’s food cake, with a mocha frosting to match!

How many of you are bakers? Do you have anything else you want me to start practicing? Let me know below, I want to try it!

Print Recipe

Devil’s Food Cake with Mocha Frosting

Prep Time1 hr

Cook Time30 mins

Course: Dessert

Keyword: cake, chocolate cake, mocha

Equipment

• 2 9" cake pans

Ingredients

Devil's Food Cake

• 2 cups cake flour sifted
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup instant coffee
• 1 stick butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 tsp vanilla

Mocha Frosting

• 4 cups confectioners (powdered) sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup brewed coffee
• 1 1/2 sticks butter
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tsp vanilla flavoring
• 12 Oreo cookies crushed

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
• Beat the sugar, cocoa powder, and mayonnaise in a bowl (easier with an electric mixer)
• Add in the 1 stick of butter and the instant coffee. Continue to beat
• Crack an egg in the bowl one at a time, mixing in between
• Put the mixer on the lowest setting and gradually add in cake flour, salt, and baking soda.
• Once mixed, slowly pour in the buttermilk and vanilla. Beat until everything is smooth. The batter will almost have a whipped cream consistency.
• Grease the two round pans with butter and dust with flour. Spread the cake batter in the pans.
• Bake for 30 minutes.
• While mixing, make the frosting. Mix the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and salt together.
• Beat with butter until butter is fully mixed in.
• Slowly pour the coffee in, then add the vanilla flavoring.
• Let the frosting sit for a bit in the refrigerator, about 15 minutes.
• Once the cakes are completely cooled, spread the frosting on.
• Crush the Oreos. Place on the sides, on the top, and if desired, in the middle layer before adding the second round cake on top.

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These devil’s food cake and mocha frosting recipes were developed and inspired from the original recipes found in Joy of Cooking.