This Retro Chocolate Cake Is Straightforward and Tremendous Fudgy, Because of a Secret Ingredient

I’m a mayonnaise fanatic. If one thing is made with the condiment—deviled eggs, macaroni salad, or tomato sandwiches—I do know I’ll adore it. That features mayonnaise cake, a retro dessert with a moist, tender crumb and wealthy chocolate taste. Made with flour, cocoa powder, sugar, and some different pantry staples, this wealthy, fudgy cake is what I make once I discover myself quick on eggs or have a late-night chocolate craving.

Mayonnaise in a cake could sound odd, however the condiment—an emulsion of oil and water certain collectively by lecithin, a protein in egg yolks—is basically made up of substances continuously used to arrange desserts. Cooks have been utilizing mayonnaise to arrange chocolate desserts for practically a century; mayonnaise cake was particularly common throughout World Battle Two, when substances like eggs, dairy, and sugar had been rationed to help the warfare effort abroad, and extra lately throughout the pandemic, when bakers as soon as once more discovered themselves dealing with naked grocery store cabinets.

A Temporary Historical past of Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake

Many blogs credit score Hellmann’s with having created the mayonnaise cake in 1937, however one of many earliest recipes I discovered for the dessert was printed 10 years earlier, in a March 1927 version of the Oakland Tribune. The recipe didn’t name for store-bought mayonnaise, nevertheless it did instruct cooks to make their very own mayonnaise by whipping one egg in half a cup of vegetable oil earlier than including it to their cake batter. 

Normal Meals, the dad or mum firm of Hellmann’s and Finest Meals, debuted its model in its 1937 dessert booklet Muffins and Cookies With Character: Thrilling New Recipes for Muffins, Cookies, and Frostings. The recipe got here from Mrs. Paul Value, the spouse of a Normal Meals gross sales government. Although Hellmann’s wasn’t the primary to make mayonnaise cake, they did popularize it. The corporate used the recipe in ads to advertise their mayonnaise, touting the dessert as a “rich, moist cake” with out the necessity for eggs or shortening. To at the present time, each Finest Meals and Hellman’s share mayonnaise cake recipes on their web sites.

Why Mayonnaise Cake Is the Secret Ingredient for Higher Chocolate Cake

In my recipe under, full-fat mayonnaise provides moisture and richness. The acidity of pure cocoa powder and the vinegar in mayonnaise activate the baking soda, producing carbon dioxide that helps leaven the cake, whereas its salt enhances the opposite substances, including complexity and depth of taste. Whereas the seasonings in a typical store-bought mayo (akin to Hellmann’s) won’t have an effect on the flavour of your cake, keep away from utilizing something however plain mayonnaise, as utilizing closely seasoned mayonnaise can impression the flavour of your cake.

Mayonnaise’s signature emulsion of oil and water produces an exceptionally fudgy cake with cling-to-your-fork ranges of moisture: The lecithin helps the condiment keep emulsified, and that emulsification permits for a extra even distribution of each fats and moisture throughout the cake batter. This helps the fats evenly coat the flour particles, limiting gluten growth and producing a extra tender cake. These options make it appropriate for serving with nothing greater than a dusting of powdered sugar, nevertheless it’s additionally an ideal canvas for frosting, ice cream, or hot fudge sauce.

Use Espresso As a substitute of Water for Greater, Bolder Chocolate Taste

Many classic mayonnaise cake recipes name for water to assist moisten the batter, however in my recipe under, I’ve changed water with sturdy black espresso, which enhances and intensifies the cake’s chocolate taste. Scorching tip: Brew your espresso at double the energy you’d make for ingesting. Don’t fear should you aren’t a espresso lover, although—even with double-strength espresso, this cake doesn’t style like espresso, simply wealthy darkish chocolate. And isn’t that what all of us need from a chocolate cake?