Hi I remember making the MLS cake with Mrs Milman's frosting too. Wow, now this seems even better. But the photo of your grandson looking at the cake is priceless. I am sure he will remember it. Thanks for another great recipe. Xo
May 13, 2022·edited May 13, 2022Liked by Susan Spungen
Wonderful post, photos, and recipe! I remember making the MSL Devil’s Food Cake with the famous Mrs. Milman’s Frosting back in 1997! I brought it to my friends’ beach house as dessert for a crowd. Everyone still remembers that cake and asks me to make it 25 years later—especially the frosting! Excited to bake this updated version.
Hi Susan! Thanks so much for the inspiration. Wondering about your reference to your freezer and curious what slices of dessert may be in there and how you keep it organized?
I made this cake this past weekend for my son's birthday - he requested "chocolate on chocolate, covered with fondant;" among the men in my house (2 teenage boys and my husband) it was a big hit! I had BIG issues with the frosting, however. While the recipe calls for cooking the melted chocolate chip (I used Guittard)/cream mixture for 20 to 25 minutes over low heat in a heavy saucepan (mine is a Le Creuset enameled cast iron), after which "it won't look much different," by about 11 minutes, my smooth chocolate mixture had split into a layer of oil at the top of the pan. Because I am a rule-follower in general, I carried on, stirring almost constantly (despite the fact that the pan was spitting oil at me) until minute 18, when I decided enough was enough and moved on to the water bath step. Once in the metal bowl (still stirring), I ended up with solidified oil around the sides of the bowl and had to periodically remove the bowl to my countertop to mix it back in. After many rounds of mixing, the frosting did finally come together. But the last straw was then actually frosting the cake! I have never, in all my many years of baking and decorating birthday cakes, had so much difficulty with frosting a cake. NEVER. But I did plow on, since I was too far in to quit now, and eventually had a filled-and-frosted cake (which also took a LOT more effort than it should have, in my experience) with surfaces smooth enough to cover with the requested fondant. Next time, I'll be skipping the chips and going back to a plain old whipped ganache, or even buttercream.
My 21 year old son and his friend and I, made this recipe into cupcakes. Wow…the cupcakes were moist and delish! My son thought the frosting was the best part. He continued to eat the leftover frosting right out of the bowl for the next few days:-) Thanks for a great recipe.!
I made this today, for Father's Day and it was really delicious. The cake/icing combo is very harmonious. I think I over baked the cake, which was surprising because I checked ut very early! My oven is such a PITA. Anyhow, I only had green yoghurt, so I added some water to it...but it wasn't as liquify as regular yogurt-- so maybe that was the culprit? The cake is still delicious. The icing is indeed the most picture perfect icing I have ever made.
This looks fantastic and I can't wait to make it. I DO archive my MSL issues (going back to 1989! - I know I am insane!) I found the May 1997 issue and that recipe calls for 1 tsp of light corn syrup for a double batch. I noticed you added vanilla and omitted the corn syrup. I get the vanilla addition and assume you see no downside to omitting the corn syrup but would like to know your point of view here.
Hi I remember making the MLS cake with Mrs Milman's frosting too. Wow, now this seems even better. But the photo of your grandson looking at the cake is priceless. I am sure he will remember it. Thanks for another great recipe. Xo
This looks so delicious and so versatile! Thanks for the freezer tips too, they will come in handy with all the new recipes to try!
Wonderful post, photos, and recipe! I remember making the MSL Devil’s Food Cake with the famous Mrs. Milman’s Frosting back in 1997! I brought it to my friends’ beach house as dessert for a crowd. Everyone still remembers that cake and asks me to make it 25 years later—especially the frosting! Excited to bake this updated version.
This looks like pure decadence!
Hi Susan! Thanks so much for the inspiration. Wondering about your reference to your freezer and curious what slices of dessert may be in there and how you keep it organized?
Hi! I have Ghirardelli 72% morsels. Do you think they would make the icing too stiff?
I made this cake this past weekend for my son's birthday - he requested "chocolate on chocolate, covered with fondant;" among the men in my house (2 teenage boys and my husband) it was a big hit! I had BIG issues with the frosting, however. While the recipe calls for cooking the melted chocolate chip (I used Guittard)/cream mixture for 20 to 25 minutes over low heat in a heavy saucepan (mine is a Le Creuset enameled cast iron), after which "it won't look much different," by about 11 minutes, my smooth chocolate mixture had split into a layer of oil at the top of the pan. Because I am a rule-follower in general, I carried on, stirring almost constantly (despite the fact that the pan was spitting oil at me) until minute 18, when I decided enough was enough and moved on to the water bath step. Once in the metal bowl (still stirring), I ended up with solidified oil around the sides of the bowl and had to periodically remove the bowl to my countertop to mix it back in. After many rounds of mixing, the frosting did finally come together. But the last straw was then actually frosting the cake! I have never, in all my many years of baking and decorating birthday cakes, had so much difficulty with frosting a cake. NEVER. But I did plow on, since I was too far in to quit now, and eventually had a filled-and-frosted cake (which also took a LOT more effort than it should have, in my experience) with surfaces smooth enough to cover with the requested fondant. Next time, I'll be skipping the chips and going back to a plain old whipped ganache, or even buttercream.
My 21 year old son and his friend and I, made this recipe into cupcakes. Wow…the cupcakes were moist and delish! My son thought the frosting was the best part. He continued to eat the leftover frosting right out of the bowl for the next few days:-) Thanks for a great recipe.!
Should the yogurt be unsweetened? Could I sub sour cream?
I made this today, for Father's Day and it was really delicious. The cake/icing combo is very harmonious. I think I over baked the cake, which was surprising because I checked ut very early! My oven is such a PITA. Anyhow, I only had green yoghurt, so I added some water to it...but it wasn't as liquify as regular yogurt-- so maybe that was the culprit? The cake is still delicious. The icing is indeed the most picture perfect icing I have ever made.
This looks fantastic and I can't wait to make it. I DO archive my MSL issues (going back to 1989! - I know I am insane!) I found the May 1997 issue and that recipe calls for 1 tsp of light corn syrup for a double batch. I noticed you added vanilla and omitted the corn syrup. I get the vanilla addition and assume you see no downside to omitting the corn syrup but would like to know your point of view here.
I will find any excuse to make this! Can't wait to try both the cake and frosting recipes.