Devil's Cake ‒ Paholaisenkakku

Random facts about Finnish coffee culture #9: Usually, there are two rounds of coffee. The second serving is characterized with the same modesty than going to the table (see fact #2). The guest may try to deter when the hostess comes to pour the second cup. The hostess then persuades the guest who perhaps tries to further present reasons not to until he or she agrees to have a half cup. The hostess then pours a full cup. In case your tummy really can't take the second, it's better you choose to have tea to begin with.


Couple of last day's posting have contained cocoa, so it's time to give you the ultimate in that regard. Devil's is sometimes also referred to as cake of a broken heart. Perhaps the name comos from the blackness, or the fact how chocolate has often been redeemed hedonist and sinful.

This is a classic among a cake type called dry cakes, coffee cakes or one-hand cakes because they're so fast and easy you can make them with your left hand only. They were among the earliest thing to be served with coffee, starting from mansions of 17th century. When the coffee drinkin habit became more frequent, the cakes were left out for special occasions.

Most Finns think these are tooo common, which means they aren't on the peak of their popularity at the moment. Now that I tried making a few I was surprised on how easy it was to achieve a great structure. Somehow none of my bakings have been dry like I remembered, on the contrary. They are called dry cakes since they don't usually require any topping, though melted chocolate does fit this one perfectly.

Eggs are a common ingredient, though it's usually pretty safe to just leave them out. They may become more crumbly but since they're crumbly anyways, the difference isn't huge. Here I replaced 2 eggs and 1 dl wheat flour with 1 dl potato starch and 0.5 dl worth of extra milk.

- 200 g margarine
- 4 dl wheat flour
- 3 dl sugar
- 2.5 dl soy milk
- 1.5 dl dark cocoa powder (no, this isn't meant to read tablespoon)
- 1 dl potato starch
- 2 tsp vanilla sugar
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt

Mix everything even. Pour into a buttered ring mold. Bake in 175°C for about an hour.

Nutritional values / 1110 g:
energy 3774 kcal
fat 164 g
protein 56 g
carbohydrates 508 g
fiber 29 g