Sugar Free Devil's Food Cake

This Sugar Free Devil's Food Cake is really the ultimate chocolate cake experience like no other chocolate cake.

Made with unsweetened cocoa powder bloomed with hot coffee, this cake is soft, moist, and intensely chocolate-forward, making it perfect for about any occasion.

Ingredients You Will Need

• Flour Regular all purpose flour.
• Leaveners. Both Baking Soda and Baking Powder.
• Salt A small amount of salt helps to bring out the chocolate flavor.
• Milk. Whole milk for moisture.
• Sour Cream Greek yogurt can be used instead.
• Dutch Process Cocoa. Do not use regular unsweetened cocoa powder as Dutch Process is essential to this recipes success.
• Coffee Use hot coffee as it is needed for blooming the chocolate.
• Butter. Unsalted is preferred as we are adding salt to this recipe. Your butter should be soft.
• Neutral Oil Such as vegetable or canola oil.
• Sugar Alternative. Use a granular sugar alternative that measures like (1:1) sugar and that can also be baked with.
• Eggs. At room temperature for opti
  mal blending.
• Vanilla Extract Pure vanilla extract for better flavor.
• Optional- ½ teaspoon of espresso powder to bring out the chocolate flavor in this cake.

How to make How to Make Sugar Free Devil’s Food Cake

• Prep Time 15 minutes.
• Bake Time 30–35 minutes .
• Servings 12–16 servings .
• How to serve : Serve frosted.
• Notes: Medium bowl, small bowl, large mixing bowl, whisks, round cake pans or a 9x13" pan.

1. Prepare. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and prep your pans for nonstick. I like to grease the pan and then dust them with additional cocoa powder.
2. Dry Ingredients. In a medium bowl, use a clean whisk to combine together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
3. Wet Ingredients. In a small bowl, use a clean whisk to combined together the milk and sour cream.
4. Bloom. In this step we will be blooming the cocoa. In a medium bowl, use a whisk to combine together the cocoa powder, hot coffee, and (optional) espresso powder. Then let the mixture sit while you move on.
5. Cream. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, oil, and sugar alternative until light and fluffy (about two to three minutes). Then add the eggs, one at a time, stopping to stir between additions. Then mix in the vanilla extract.
6. Combine. Add the cocoa mixture from the fourth step to the mixing bowl and mix until combined.
7. Build For this next step we will alternate adding the dry ingredients and remaining wet ingredients. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then add half of the dry ingredients (from the second step) and gently mix. Then add half of the ingredients from the wet ingredients (milk and sour cream) and gently mix again. Repeat this process with the remaining, taking care to now over-mix the ingredients.
8. Bake. Transfer the cake batter to your prepared cake pan(s), evenly spreading the batter out. Gently tap the bottom of the pan on the kitchen counter and then place the pan(s) into your oven. Bake the cake for 28-32 minutes (round pans) or 32-28 minutes. Allow the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting it over a cooling rack to fully cool. The cake should be fully cooled before frosting it.

Expert Tips for a Moist Texture

When selecting you sugar alternative for this cake, it is important that you choose one that measures like actual sugar and that can also be baked with. For the best moisture and texture, consider using a baking blend such as erythritol + allulose as these can help prevent dryness and that cooling aftertaste that is common.

More helpful tips for you.

1. Your dairy (eggs, soft butter, milk, and sour cream) ingredients should be at room temperature. Using cold dairy ingredients can have effect on the blending of ingredients and can also affect the ability of the cake to rise properly.
2. When combining the ingredients in the building step (#7), it is important that you do not overmix the ingredients. Once the flour is added to the cake batter, you should mix until just combined as overmixing can overwork the gluten which can affect the texture of the cake.
3. Baking times can vary depending on the pan that your are using. As a general rule of thumb, this cake is done baking when the center of the cake can spring back when gently pushed or a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs. If your toothpick comes out completely "clean," you likely overbaked it. If it comes out with wet, liquid batter, it needs another 3–5 minutes.

FAQ

• Why use both baking soda and baking powder in this recipe?
  Both leaveners have their own reason for making this cake special.
  Baking soda reacts with acidity for tenderness and color.
  Baking powder provides additional lift to ensure a reliable rise.
• Can I replace sour cream in this recipe?
  Suitable alternatives for the sour cream include full-fat Greek yogurt or
  buttermilk. If you use buttermilk you may want to reduce the amount of milk added slightly.
• Why is my cake dry?
  This cake rarely comes out dry with all that is done to keep it moist.
  Common causes that your cake is dry may be because it was overbaking, you added too much flour (scoop and leven in this recipe!), or you used just erythritol rather than a blend. Skipping the oil can also make the cake dry as the oil is added for moisture.
• Why did my cake sink in the center. This is not a fun thing to have happen when you have worked so hard to create a great cake. Sinking can happen when the cake is underbaked, the batter is overmixed, or the leavening (baking powder and baking soda) were not fresh.
• Why does my cake seem dense rather than 'fluffy'? The number one reason for a dense cake is over-mixing the flour as this activates the gluten . Other cause for a dense cake include using cold ingredients or not adding enough of each of the leaveners.

Variations.

• Make this recipe gluten free by using a gluten free flour that measures 1:1 with all purpose flour.
• Swap out your milk and sour cream with a cup of buttermilk.
• Instead of using vanilla extract, use another extract such as cherry extract.

How to store Devils Food Cake.

Make sure that you cake has fully cooled before storing it. Unfrosted individual cake layers should be double wrapped (plastic wrap and then a layer of aluminum foil). Unfrosted cake can be stored at room temperature for up to two days or frozen for up to a few months. For frosted cakes, if your frosting is made with butter (buttercream), the cake should be safe at room temperature for two to three days when kept under a cake dome or a large inverted bowl to keep dust and air out.
If your frosting contains cream cheese, fresh whipped cream, or fruit fillings, it must be refrigerated.

Find your sugar free frosting recipe.

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