Tim's Birthday Cake: Devil Dog Cake with Marshmallow Frosting

Taste: ****
Difficulty: Easy
Cleanup: Moderate

Tim's Cake
Tim's Cake

Tim’s birthday is on Tuesday but we had an early celebration with his parents tonight.  After a delicious dinner at Jarnac — our favorite French bistro that happens to have half-off wine on Sundays — we came back to our apartment for some birthday cake.  Tim requested a small cake so he wouldn’t be eating it all week.  I had bookmarked this “Devil Dog” cake that you bake in an 8×8 pan some time ago and was excited to have an opportunity to give it a go.

For those of you who have never eaten a Devil Dog (one of my brother’s favorites when we were little), a Devil Dog consists of two oblong chocolate cakes filled with a marshmallow-y cream.  This cake attempts to replicate the flavor with its devils food cake and marshmallow frosting.

It’s been about 20 years since I’ve had a devil dog so I can’t totally attest to how close the flavors are but the cake was DELICIOUS and I think it was pretty spot on!

Devil Dog Cake
Gourmet, February 2008

For cake

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process) plus additional for dusting
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 1/3 cups water

For frosting

  • 2 large egg whites
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup light corn syrup
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Make cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Butter and flour an 8-inch square cake pan (2 inches deep).

Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.

Beat together butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well, then beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture and water alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture and mixing until just combined.

Pour batter into cake pan and smooth top, then bake until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 45 to 55 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 1 hour. Transfer cake to a cake plate.

Make frosting:
Combine frosting ingredients with a pinch of salt in a metal bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water and beat with a handheld electric mixer at high speed until frosting is thick and fluffy, 6 to 7 minutes. Remove bowl from heat and continue to beat until slightly cooled. Mound frosting on top of cake. Dust with additional cocoa powder.



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