Blackout Cake — Brooklyn blackout cake

i. Origin & history

Blackout cake was invented during World War II by Brooklyn's Ebinger's Bakery as a tribute to the blackout drills along the Atlantic coast. Ebinger's closed in 1972 but the cake has been faithfully revived by countless Brooklyn bakeries.

ii. Ingredients

Makes 12 servings · scroll the side panel to adjust

• 300 g plain flour
• 60 g cocoa
• 2 tsp baking soda
• Pinch salt
• 400 g sugar
• 2 eggs
• 250 ml buttermilk
• 100 ml neutral oil
• 250 ml strong coffee
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 500 ml whole milk
• 60 g cocoa
• 60 g cornstarch
• 150 g sugar
• 100 g dark chocolate
• 30 g butter
• 2 tsp vanilla

iii. Method

1. Make cake: whisk dry, then wet, combine, bake in 3 × 22 cm tins at 180 °C for 25-30 min. Cool.
2. Crumble one of the three cakes into fine crumbs; reserve.
3. Make pudding: cook milk, cocoa, cornstarch, sugar; stir in chocolate, butter, vanilla; cool with cling film on surface.
4. Sandwich the two whole cakes with pudding. Cover top and sides with pudding.
5. Press crumbled cake all over to coat completely.

iv. Tips & common mistakes

• Use the freshest ingredients you can. The recipe relies on them.
• Read the method through first. Several steps must be ready in advance.
• Season patiently. Sweetness and salt are tuned at the end, not the start.

v. Variations

Ebinger's original is the canonical recipe. Modern Brooklyn variations include espresso, salted caramel.

vii. More from North American

• Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte — Black Forest cake
• Mexican Chocolate Cake — cinnamon chocolate
• Chocolate Hazelnut Tart — Nutella-spirit tart
• Medovik — Russian honey cake
• Blue Velvet Cake — blue velvet
• Seven Layer Bars — American magic bars