mile-high devil’s food cake

You have a choice of two frostings here: a mock Brown Sugar Seven-Minute Frosting and a Brown Sugar Buttercream. The buttercream is, of course, heavenly, but if you don’t feel like packing away a pound of butter, you may prefer the lighter frosting. Whichever you choose, the cake will disappear before you turn around.

MAKES AN 8-INCH TRIPLE-LAYER CAKE; SERVES 12 TO 16

• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, not Dutch process (see Baker’s Note, page 55)
• 1 ¼ cup hot water
• 3 cups packed light brown sugar
• 2 ⅔ cups cake flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons (9 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3 eggs
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• ¾ cup cold water
• Brown Sugar Seven-Minute Frosting (page 54) (see Baker’s Note, page 55) or Brown Sugar Buttercream (page 55) (see Baker’s Note, page 55)

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter the bottoms and sides of three 8-inch round cake pans. Line the bottom of each pan with a round of parchment or waxed paper and grease the paper.
2. Place the cocoa powder in a medium bowl. Add the hot water and whisk until smooth. Let cool to room temperature.
3. In a large mixer bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low, blend to mix. Add the butter and dissolved cocoa and beat briefly to blend. Then raise the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs with the vanilla and cold water until blended. Add this liquid to the batter in 3 additions, scraping down the sides well and mixing only to incorporate between additions. Divide the batter among the 3 prepared cake pans.
5. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out almost clean, with just a few crumbs sticking to the pick. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Invert onto wire racks, carefully peel off the paper liners, and let cool completely.
6. To assemble the cake, choose one of the frosting recipes. Place one cake layer, flat side up, on a cake stand or serving plate. Cover it with about ⅔ cup of frosting. Repeat with the next layer and top it with the final layer. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting. If you chose the Brown Sugar Seven-Minute Frosting, you can make swirls and peaks by tapping the frosting with a palette knife or the back of a spoon and pulling away quickly. Do this all over the cake, and it will have large breaking waves like a lemon meringue pie. The Brown Sugar Buttercream will not stand up like this; simply frost and swirl gently.