The 7-Layer Chocolate Cake Taking Over NYC — Most-Ordered

Quick Overview

Chef Joshua Pinsky of Claud in the East Village reveals the recipe for his extremely popular, seven-layer Devil's Food Cake, detailing the preparation of the frosting, cake batter, ginger-infused soak, and the final assembly, including a black cocoa mirror glaze and dusting with grated dark chocolate.

Key Points: Chef Joshua Pinsky of Claud in the East Village demonstrates how to create his most-ordered item, the seven-layer Devil's Food Cake. The frosting is made by combining three different types of chocolate, butter, and cream, then blending with an immersion blender and chilling overnight to achieve a pliable consistency. The cake batter incorporates buttermilk, oil, eggs, and a small amount of gelatin in the soak to ensure the final cake is not too dense. The cake layers are soaked with a mixture containing grated ginger, sugar, vermouth, and Carnation evaporated milk for flavor and texture enhancement. The cake is assembled using five layers, with the largest cake layer placed on the bottom and inverted for structural support against gravity. The final step involves coating the entire cake in a dark glaze made from cream, water, gelatin, sugar, and carbon black cocoa powder for a striking, intensely black finish. The cake is finished by dusting the entire exterior with grated dark chocolate, which the chef notes adds aesthetic appeal and texture.

Context: Chef Joshua Pinsky, the Chef-Owner of Claud in the East Village, walks viewers through the meticulous, multi-step process of creating his highly popular, seven-layer Devil's Food Cake. Pinsky emphasizes that while the cake is complex, the final product is worth the effort, noting that the cake is so rich that two people rarely finish a slice, implying it is an intensely decadent dessert.

Detailed Analysis

Chef Joshua Pinsky details the seven steps required to create the Devil's Food Cake from Claud. Step one involves making the frosting, which uses three different chocolates, butter, and cream, blended and set overnight for pliability. Step two covers the cake batter, where ingredients like buttermilk, oil, eggs, and bloomed gelatin are mixed slowly to avoid overworking the batter, resulting in a texture similar to a brownie. Step three focuses on the soak, a crucial element for flavor, made from grated ginger, sugar, vermouth, and evaporated milk, which is applied liberally to the cake layers, particularly around the edges. Step four is the cake assembly: five layers are stacked, using the largest layer as the base and inverting it to help support the weight, with frosting applied between each layer. Step five involves crumb-coating the tall cake using the chocolate frosting and chilling it to set the crumbs. Step six is applying the black mirror glaze, made from cream, water, gelatin, sugar, and carbon black cocoa powder, heated to 180-190°F to ensure a thin, shiny coating that sets properly. Finally, step seven is dusting the glazed cake with grated dark chocolate for aesthetic appeal and texture, achieving a rich, dark brown, heavily textured exterior.