How to make Zoë François' Chocolate Devil's Food Cake

Deliciousness from the author of "Zoë Bakes Cakes"

Hello! Hello!

It didn’t seem fair to tell you about all the books I’ve been reading and cooking and baking from over the past year or so without giving you a taste of at least one of them. So today, here’s one of my favorite recipes from ZOE BAKES CAKES, by Zoë François: Chocolate Devil’s Food Cake. I know, just stringing those four words together is enough to make us chocolate-lovers sigh.

When I asked Zoë if I could share this recipe, she agreed immediately, saying: This is my most requested recipe – it’s what my family always asks for.

I’m not surprised. It’s got the classic devil’s food color – so dark it’s almost black. The cake is made with unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa, which delivers a deep, pure, chocolate flavor. (I made it with Valrhona cocoa.) Zoë calls for strong hot coffee and a few tablespoons of rum in the recipe and says that their flavors aren’t pronounced – and she’s right. While you’d think that more than a cup of coffee in a cake would make itself known with a ba…