Devil's food cake

Start the preparation of the devil's food cake by cutting the butter into cubes and letting it soften 1 (or soften it in the microwave). Beat the softened butter with the beaters at moderate speed, and when it becomes light and fluffy, add the sugar and the seeds of the vanilla bean 2 and continue to beat for a few more minutes, occasionally scraping the mixture from the sides of the bowl with a soft spatula 3.

Add the eggs one at a time 4 at room temperature, still beating. In a small bowl, place the sifted cocoa and add the boiling water 5 to obtain a smooth cream without lumps 6, then let it cool.

Add the now-cooled cocoa cream 7 to the butter, egg, and sugar mixture. Add the salt, sifted flour, and baking soda to the obtained mixture 8, then gently mix all the ingredients. Butter and dust 3 cake pans with a diameter of 9 inches 9,

then divide the batter into three equal parts and place it into the 3 cake pans 10. Bake the cake pans in a preheated oven at 350°F for about 30-35 minutes, then when the three cakes are cooked 11 remove them from the oven, let them cool for 15 minutes, and remove them from the molds placing them on a cooling rack. Meanwhile, prepare the filling/coating cream of the devil's cake by placing the cream in a large saucepan 12 and bringing it to the point just before boiling.

Add the dark chocolate to the saucepan 13 and mix well until you obtain a smooth and homogeneous mixture 14. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let the mixture cool at room temperature, stirring every 15 minutes; then put it in the refrigerator until the mixture thickens (remember to stir every 15 minutes) and becomes rather solid but spreadable 15.

Place one of the now-cold discs on a plate, spread it with the chocolate cream 16, cover with a second disc 17, and cover this too with the layer of chocolate 18.

Place the last cake on top of the 2 discs filled with chocolate cream 19 and cover the whole cake with the remaining cream 20 (be generous!): if you want to give the coating of the devil's cake the typical "rippling waves" appearance, use a spatula and spread by "moving" the cream 21. The devil's food cake is ready to be enjoyed! Remember to store the cake in the refrigerator.