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 find it irresistible. 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 after I discover myself brief on eggs or have a late-night chocolate craving.

Mayonnaise in a cake might 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 components continuously used to organize desserts. Cooks have been utilizing mayonnaise to organize chocolate desserts for practically a century; mayonnaise cake was particularly standard throughout World Battle Two, when components like eggs, dairy, and sugar have been rationed to assist the struggle effort abroad, and extra not too long ago through the pandemic, when bakers as soon as once more discovered themselves going through naked grocery store cabinets.

A Transient 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, but it surely 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. 

Common Meals, the mother or father firm of Hellmann’s and Greatest 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 Common Meals gross sales govt. 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 this present day, each Greatest 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 components, including complexity and depth of taste. Whereas the seasonings in a typical store-bought mayo (reminiscent of Hellmann’s) is not going to have an effect on the flavour of your cake, keep away from utilizing something however plain mayonnaise, as utilizing closely seasoned mayonnaise can influence 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, but it surely’s additionally a terrific canvas for frosting, ice cream, or scorching fudge sauce.

Use Espresso As a substitute of Water for Larger, 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 if you happen to 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?