This is your all-purpose, everyday, no-reason, intensely chocolatey, take-a-sliver-every-time-you-pass-it chocolate cake. Moist and rich, the true secret ingredient here is the soy sauce in the frosting. FOR REAL. It adds just a little salty note that really pulls the cake together. I dare you not to love it at first bite. Just ask my editor.
Ingredients
Makes one 9-by-13-inch frosted cake
For the cake:
For the frosting:
Step 1
Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-by-13-inch glass or metal cake pan with the 1 tablespoon of room temperature butter.
Step 2
Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Combine the buttermilk and vanilla in a medium bowl or a 2-cup liquid measuring cup.
Step 3
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl, if using a handheld mixer), cream the 1 cup of butter and the brown sugar on low speed until creamy and well combined. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until light and airy, about 2 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low and add the eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition and scraping down the side and bottom of the bowl as needed. Once all 3 eggs are added, beat for 1 minute on medium speed to get the mixture nice and fluffy.
Step 4
Reduce the speed to medium-low and add the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk mixture in three batches, starting with the flour. Add the melted chocolate and mix on medium speed until well incorporated, stopping the mixer to scrape down the side and bottom of the bowl as needed.
Step 5
Use a rubber or offset spatula to scrape the batter into the prepared pan and even it out as much as possible. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean and the center of the cake resists light pressure, about 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool completely, at least 2 hours, before frosting.
Step 6
Make the frosting: Put the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or in a medium bowl, if using a handheld mixer). Beat on medium-high speed until smooth. Turn off the mixer and sift the confectioners’ sugar into the bowl and combine on low speed. Add the melted chocolate, soy sauce, and vanilla and beat on low speed until combined. Increase the mixer speed to medium-low and whip until glossy, 15 to 30 seconds.
Step 7
Use an offset spatula or butter knife to spread the frosting on top of the cooled cake. Cut into squares and serve.
Step 8
DO AHEAD: The cake will keep, loosely covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator, for up to 3 days. Let it sit out at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes before slicing and serving.
There are a few simple ways to go about melting chocolate. Most often, I resort to the microwave—simply place finely chopped chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave it on high in 20-second increments, stirring between each one, until the chocolate is melted. Or you can use a bain marie (water bath): Fill a medium saucepan with water to a depth of 1 inch and bring to a simmer over high heat. Turn the heat down to medium-low and place the finely chopped chocolate in a heat-safe metal bowl set atop the pot. Stir the chocolate every 30 seconds to 1 minute until it is melted. (Be sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the simmering water, or the chocolate could scorch and turn pasty.)
Leave a Review
Reviews (12)
Back to TopThis is my fourth? fifth time making the cake. It is a very dense cake..........rises then falls resulting in more of a fudge consistency. I love the over the top rich chocolate taste. However I would like a slightly less dense consistency. Does lend itself to sliver slices. Its like eating a confection. The icing is perrrfect and definitely would not leave out the soy. I give a lot away and everyone looks forward to more. All agree the name is spot on.
easyacct1
Trinity Florida
8/5/2020
I actually thought this cake had great flavor and texture... for the most part. The issue I had with it was, it just wouldn't cook through the middle. I had it in an extra 20 minutes and the center was still soup! The edges were tasty, good crumb, not dense and good flavor. The center settled into more of a brownie being so under cooked. Icing was interesting with the soy, I kinda liked it, but I kept it on the side, rather than spreading it all on top with the uneven cooking. I feel this recipe has great "bones" but needs to be tested much more. There's so many great chocolate cake recipes out there, I wouldn't make this again, but glad I tried it.
jhgreer
Portland, OR
5/5/2020
The recipe had all the right ingredients, but it was a big flop. Even 6 ravenous, broke, starving twentysomethings rejected it. My husband and I took one bite and threw the rest of our serving away. It was heavy, dry and nothing like the tag line. The batter looked beautiful. I even made two cakes and they both turned out the same.
Anonymous
Orlando FL
12/4/2019
I was so looking forward to this cake from the description. Unfortunately it did not live up to expectations. The cake was heavy. The overall soy sauce flavor was overpowering and off-putting, not it the salted carmel way I was hoping for.
tcain11
Portland ME
12/2/2019
4 forks for the frosting, 0 forks for the cake. Dense, but not in a luxurious or rich way. Just dry and deflated. I’m embarrassed to say I tried it twice. I thought maybe the last of the baking powder I used had gone bad. But no... same result the second time. I’ll keep using the frosting recipe, tho. I already used it on the “wacky cake” and yellow cupcakes.
auntlizz
Central Valley, Ca
11/17/2019
So yummy!!!
arielle_metaxas7337
New York, NY
11/12/2019
This cake was moist AND delicious!! So chocolatey!! Yes, it was a heavy, dense cake, but it was far from dry. It was scrumptious! I was troubled by the ratio of butter to Confectioners’ Sugar, but it made a lovely and light fluffy frosting that was more than enough to completely cover the cake. I was intrigued AND scared of the Soy Sauce, particularly the amount, but I went for it and the tastiness of the frosting just made you want more! This recipe is a keeper! I look forward to serving it to guests next time and to find out if anyone can guess the secret ingredient!
batoland7819
Oklahoma
10/26/2019
Made the recipe as directed (imagine that). As with other reviewers, I my cake came out very dense and a little on the dry side. The flavor was good, but the texture was disappointing. The frosting, on the other hand, was delicious. The soy sauce adds a subtle saltiness and heightens the chocolate flavor. Next time I might pair the frosting with Epicurious' chocolate mayonnaise cake, which is my go-to recipe.
timtheviking2
Washington, DC
9/30/2019
Since a couple of the reviews complained about both the icing and cake I just used a mix for the cake. I had no problem getting the icing to a good consistency with the ingredients as listed, and everyone liked the umami flavor. It definitely needs sweet to balance it out, so it would be fun to experiment with different types of cake. If you're feeling skittish you could reduce the amount of soy but I wouldn't go as far as half.
hogansr
9/29/2019
I was excited to make this cake. (The soy sauce in the frosting intrigued me.) Unfortunately the results were disappointing. The cake was leaden and the frosting recipe has to be a mistake. The sugar to butter ratio is off. I had to double the powdered sugar to get the correct consistency. I halved the soy sauce and still found it to be overpowering.
scottyb
Los Angeles CA
9/24/2019
A really interesting cake. I used Droste cocoa powder, which gave the cake great flavor—it was moist and light and way too easy to eat. Everyone who tasted it LOVED how salty-sweet the frosting was but couldn't guess the secret ingredient.
Kearney
Tennessee
9/23/2019
What a terrible cake! Heavy but not moist, and the soy sauce added to the frosting is far too much. It is so salty that several people at my house wouldn’t eat it. Is there perhaps a mistake in the ingredient list?
kv313
Woodbridge, CT
9/20/2019
See Related Recipes and Cooking Tips
43 Sweet and Salty Desserts to Satisfy All Your Cravings at Once
Salted caramel sauce is only the beginning.53 Best Chocolate Cake Recipes to Make Any Week a Better Week
A year’s worth of chocolate cakes, ready for baking.91 Chocolate Desserts for Days When a Chocolate Bar Just Isn't Enough
What do we want? Chocolate. When do we want it? All the time.11 Recipes for That Awkward Transition From Summer to Fall
We're whipping out the sheet-pans and skillets—and using up our summer produce.Should We Be Adding Soy Sauce to Chocolate?
According to a new cookbook, the answer is yes.31 Recipes Made With Soy Sauce
Turn to soy sauce to add an instant hit of umami to recipes both savory and sweet.
