My mother's birthday is tomorrow, and I am making a double batch of her mother's Devil's Food cake, which is an institution in our family..I posted the recipe in volumetric measurements in xaipete's Cake Flour thread several days ago..Visit the thread below for instructions on how to assemble and bake the cake..This cake batter makes excellent cupcakes, both mini and full-sized cupcakes..For best results use cupcake papers..

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/11396/cake-flour [1]

Below is my grandmother's recipe converted to weight measures..All weights in grams are rounded up to the nearest half of a gram..

This recipe dates from approximately late in the second decade of the 20th Century..Attentive recipe readers will notice that this recipe calls for no salt..It does not need any salt as the leavening agents themselves are somewhat salty..Like most recipes of that vintage it was intended to be made with cake flour that had been sifted at least twice along with the other dry ingredients in the recipe..I recommend at least a 50-50 ratio of cake flour to all-purpose flour for the best tasting, most tender cake..100% cake flour will yield the best results..I also recommend frosting this cake with vanilla buttercream frosting as opposed to a chocolate frosting..The vanilla buttercream frosting will play off against the rich, moist chocolate cake far better than chocolate frostings will..

Bruce

Mom's Devil's Food Cake---circa 1917-1920

7 oz. cake flour  (199g)

2 oz. Dutch-processed cocoa  (57g)

1 teaspoon baking powder

The above three ingredients should be sifted together at least twice for best results..I use a small wire whisk to stir the ingredients around to more evenly mix them before sifting the second time..This usually eliminates the need to sift a third time..

4 oz. butter, or margarine, room temperature  (113.5g)

8 oz. granulated sugar  (227g)

2 large eggs, room temperature

8.3 oz. hot, strong coffee  (234g)

1 teaspoon baking soda

Yield: 2-- 8" round cake layers,  1- 9"x13" sheet cake,  16--standard-sized cupcakes in papers,  54--mini-sized cupcakes in papers

Baking Times at 350F: 8" round cake pans = 20-25 min,  9"x13" rectangular cake pan = 24-28 minutes,  standard-sized cupcakes in papers = 14-17 minutes,  mini-sized cupcakes in papers = 9-11 minutes