• prep: 1 hr
• cook: 0 hr
• total: 1 hr

servings:

In name alone, a devil's food cake is an obvious choice for a Halloween dessert. This one will far exceed your expectations of deep chocolaty naughtiness hidden under a fluff of espresso-tinged frosting. (If your trick-or-treaters are too young to embrace the slightly adult bitterness the coffee flavor adds, feel free to substitute a couple of teaspoons of good old vanilla extract.) Have some fun with a very tasty spiderweb—you'll want to eat it rather than shriek and brush it off.

• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup boiling-hot water
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cups packed dark brown sugar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs, warmed in very warm water 10 minutes
• 3 large egg whites
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 6 tablespoons water
• 1 1/2 tablespoons instant espresso powder (optional; see cooks' note, below)
• Equipment: 3 (9- by 2-inch) round cake pans; a pastry bag with writing tip (slightly less than 1/8 inch); a handheld electric mixer

Click Here For Step-By-Step Instructions