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Good Eats: Devil of a Cake
Delicious, deeply chocolate, and decadent, Devil's Food Cake delights the palette, and in this outing, Alton shares his recipe for the treat, along with a scientific explanation of why just adding chocolate to the usual sort of cake recipe simply won't do. And of course, he needs some Chocolate Frosting for that cake. But if devil's food cake won't do, then perhaps a southern delicacy, Red Velvet Cake will be the right choice. That requires its own Cream Cheese Frosting. A delight of desserts awaits viewers here!
| 8.5/10 (2 Votes cast) |
Episode Info
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Episode number: 14x15 Production Number: EA1416H Airdate: Monday March 14th, 2011 |
Recap
Alton's cake story opens long, long ago in a midwest far, far away. Presented newsreel style, complete with a tinny tack piano and the whirring of an old-style film projector, viewers see the final judging of a cake-baking contest. The winner, for the fifth straight year, is Miss Ellie Elson, whose angel food cake the judges pronounce truly fit for angels. A reporter whisks Ellie outside for pictures, leaving behind the bitter Miss Prudence Binderbrass...Read the full recap
Episode Notes
Card: Unlike wax paper, parchment paper is impregnated with heat resistant silicone.
Card: Prior to cocoa powder, the Aztecs ground cacao beans to create a grainy, bitter chocolate drink.
Card: Some early devil's food cake recipes called for unorthodox additions such as mashed potatoes, cinnamon, and cloves.
Card: Beets were once used as a both a sweetener and a colorant in red velvet cake.
The Title: “A devil of a...” is an idiom that refers to a something difficult, as in “repairing that was a devil of a job”. Here, it is a pun referring the type of cakes Alton describes, and somewhat ironic, since Alton's recipe isn't difficult to make at all.
Episode Quotes
Ellie Elson: Oh, it's just a simple angel food cake, nothing fancy.
Fair Judge: This cake is fit for angels and you can quote me!
Fair Judge: This cake is fit for angels and you can quote me!
Prudence: Why, I'd do anything just to beat her once!
Mysterious Man: What was that, Missy?
Mysterious Man: What was that, Missy?
Fair Judge: Miss Prudence, what do you call that cake?
Prudence: Why, Devil's Food, of course...
Mysterious Man: Not to mention... (Good Eats theme plays)
Prudence: Why, Devil's Food, of course...
Mysterious Man: Not to mention... (Good Eats theme plays)
Mysterious Man: You know if you want your own cake mix we can make it happen. I've helped plenty of others, hmmm?
Alton: You sound... like my agent! No, I will not succumb to the siren song of the box as long as the shining light of science can deliver the dark, dense delight that I desire.
Mysterious Man: Whatever...
Alton: You sound... like my agent! No, I will not succumb to the siren song of the box as long as the shining light of science can deliver the dark, dense delight that I desire.
Mysterious Man: Whatever...
Alton: And so we see once again that Good Eats triumphs over evil.
Mysterious Man: Oh, bother.
Mysterious Man: Oh, bother.
Alton: Did Miss Ellie trade her soul for cakey black magic? Of course not! Despite what he told her, the answer is a simple matter of scientific detail.
(The Mysterious Man appears.)
Mysterious Man: And I am so in the details...
(The Mysterious Man appears.)
Mysterious Man: And I am so in the details...
Alton: Notice, please, that once the cake layer have cooled, I split them and then stack with frosting, leaving the sides unadorned so that the red shows through. But, hey, that's just how I roll.
Mysterious Man: (rudely shoving Alton away from his red velvet cake) Sorry, but you gotta give the Devil his due!
Alton: (shoving back) Not on Good Eats, we don't! See you next time!
Alton: (shoving back) Not on Good Eats, we don't! See you next time!
Cultural References
The story opens long, long ago in a Midwest far, far away. This spoofs the opening of Star Wars, a 1977 space opera (and arguably, cultural classic) since renamed Episode IV: A New Hope, which opened with a title crawler explaining that the events portrayed took place long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away.
This time, it is a guest (the Mysterious Man) who borrows Winnie the Pooh's classic mild oath, “Oh, bother!”
The Mysterious Man is clearly either the Christian Devil, or one of its demons, on Earth to trade. Literature is full of stories, going all the way back to the Bible (if one considers the story of Genesis and Eden) in which the Devil, chief tempter and evil power, offers mortals something in exchange for what he and God regard as their most precious asset, their soul. Here, he offers recipes and fame to several long ago fair bakers, and to Alton himself.
Other Episode Crew
| • Creator | Alton Brown |
| • Executive Producer | DeAnna Brown |
| • Music | Patrick Belden |
| • Camera Operator | Ramon Engle |
| • Director of Photography | Marion Laney |
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