Red Devil's Food Cake

A classic chocolate layer cake frosted with the smoothest vanilla frosting you’ve ever tasted. Who could resist? MORE+ LESS-

By Betty Crocker Kitchens

August 14, 2006

Cake

1 2/3

cups Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour

cup granulated sugar

1/2

cup packed brown sugar

1/2

cup shortening

1 1/2

cups buttermilk

1 1/2

teaspoons baking soda

teaspoon salt

teaspoon vanilla

eggs

oz unsweetened baking chocolate, melted, cooled

cups powdered sugar

1/3

cup butter or margarine, softened

1 1/2

teaspoons vanilla

to 2 tablespoons milk

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1

Heat oven to 350ºF. Grease and flour two 8- or 9-inch round cake pans, or 13x9-inch pan. In large bowl, beat all cake ingredients with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on high speed 3 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour into pans.
2

Bake rounds 30 to 35 minutes, rectangle 35 to 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool rounds 10 minutes; remove from pans to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
3

In medium bowl, mix powdered sugar and butter with spoon or electric mixer on low speed. Stir in vanilla and enough milk until smooth and spreadable. Fill and frost round layers or frost top of rectangle with frosting.

The slight red tint in this cake comes from the reaction between the acid in both the buttermilk and chocolate and the alkaline base of the baking soda.
Make it even easier by using Betty Crocker® Whipped ready-to-spread vanilla frosting instead of the scratch frosting. You’ll need about 1 1/2 containers to frost this two-layer cake.