Devil's Food Cake with Bittersweet Chocolate Glaze

I have an embarrassing number of cake recipes bookmarked, dog-eared, and stashed in my recipe binder, but I don't actually bake cakes as often as I'd like. Individual treats like cookies and scones are easier to bring to work, which is important because 1) I want my coworkers to like me, and this is the easiest way I know of to win friends, and 2) I tend to forgo meals and subsist entirely on cake when it's in my kitchen.

Still, birthdays are a good excuse to live large, and when mine came around this week, I browsed through my files and, after due consideration, chose the devil's food cake recipe from the Bouchon Bakery cookbook. Because, I mean, chocolate. Seriously. You can't go wrong with a chocolate birthday cake. Especially after a repast of cheese soufflé and shaved fennel salad.

The recipe calls for mayonnaise, which I have never bought in my life because I think mayo is weird. The homemade version is very simple, though it does require a strong whisking arm. Remind me to rope Amaury into making it for me next time.

 The cake recipe is delightfully simple, too. If you have a standing mixer, it'll make your life easier—and if you bake a lot, it is definitely worth the investment—but you can make this with a handheld version, too. Just have a good book to read in your free hand, since you'll be whisking for more than 10 minutes.

Is it really necessary to sift your dry ingredients together? OH, I DON'T KNOW. YOU TELL ME.

If you need some instruction on glazing your masterpiece, here's a video with only slightly ridiculous commentary. I got laryngitis as a birthday gift, so my voice is kinda scratchy.

Amaury takes candle lighting very seriously. Such pretty candles!

Recipes for cake, glaze, and mayonnaise below the cut.