The depths of sin and the highest enlightenment of anglicism meet on an earthly terrain in this Heaven and Hell Sheet Cake. A rich chocolate cake partners with a whipped marshmallow frosting for a dessert that is truly otherworldly.
The mail route in Jamaica Queens was the worst of both worlds for a postman. In the winter, the winds from the bay burned the skin, and in the summer, the pavement and wall-to-wall expanse of houses left you frying like an egg in a weather news segment. How many miles my grandfather walked every day was too long to count and was only measured by his need for sugar. After his obligatory bowl of frosted cornflakes with an additional topping of Domino sugar (no other brand!), he’d sit at the red and white formica dinette table and have a quadrant corner of Entenmann’s devil’s food iced cake.
This Heaven and Hell Sheet Cake takes all of the elements of this classic snack cake and elevates them to new heights. Chocolate has a deep and complex flavor, thanks to the addition of coffee, and the frosting is a homemade meringue brimming with a floral, sweet essence of vanilla.
This chocolate cake is super easy to make. After whisking the dry ingredients in one bowl, you bloom the chocolate and cocoa powder with hot coffee in another bowl. A combination of butter, oil, and buttermilk keeps this cake super tender and will keep it moist for days.
The frosting is similar to a classic seven-minute frosting but adds the addition of corn syrup for stabilization and an even glossier shine.
Assembling the cake is barely an assembly. Use a knife to level off the cake, apply the marshmallow frosting on top of the cake and you’re done!
It’s almost devil’s work how moist and chocolatey this cake turns out, quite different from the processed cakes or box mixes you’ll get in a store.
For the Cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
1 1/2 cups hot coffee
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
4 oz dark chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1 cup vegetable oil
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