Portillo’s Cake & Cake Shake (From scratch!)

The concept isn’t too hard to grasp. Take a super dark, rich piece of chocolate cake and blend it into a vanilla milk shake. It sounds simple, because it is and we have Portillo’s to thank for it. What started as a savvy way to utilize day-old cake that didn’t live up to quality standards has turned into an iconic menu item over the years at Portillo’s - a place originally known for Italian Beef and hot dogs. Portillo’s has always been a Chicago-only establishment, but they were recently bought out by an investment firm that has plans to spread the beefy gospel across the country which is dope… let’s just hope the quality doesn’t take a loss. Let’s do this. 🤘🏼 Adam

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Portillo's Chocolate Cake & Cake Shake

Ingredients

Devil's Food Cake

• 1 1/4 cup Strong Black Coffee (290g)
• 3 Sticks Butter (340g)
• 1/2 cup Dutch Process Cocoa Powder (43g)
• 1 cup Dark Chocolate, chopped (170g)
• 1 1/2 cups Sugar (270g)
• 2 tsp Vanilla Extract (12g)
• 1 tsp Kosher Salt (4g)
• 3 Eggs (160g)
• 1 cup Mayonnaise (240g)
• 1 tsp Baking Soda (6g)
• 1/2 tsp Baking Powder (2g)
• 2 cups All-Purpose Flour (290g)

Chocolate Fudge Frosting

• 2 1/4 cups Dark Chocolate, chopped (300g)
• 2 1/2 sticks Unsalted Butter (290g)
• 1 1/2 cups Powdered Sugar (195g)
• 1 tsp Kosher Salt (4g)
• 2 tsp Vanilla Paste or Extract (12g)
• 1 1/4 cups Heavy Whipping Cream (300g)

Chocolate Syrup

• 1 cup Water
• 1 cup Sugar
• 3/4 cup Dark Cacao Powder
• ¼ tsp Kosher Salt

Instructions

Devil's Food Cake

1. Adjust the oven rack to the lower-middle position. Preheat the oven to 350F (180c). Spray two 8 inch aluminum cake pans with non-stick cooking spray and line with parchment on the bottom (see video).
2. To a medium saucepan, add coffee and butter and cook over low heat until it is lightly steaming. Remove from the heat and whisk in cocoa powder and dark chocolate until fully incorporated. Whisk in sugar, vanilla and salt until combined. Mix in eggs and mayonnaise. Finally, sift in flour, baking soda and baking powder. Whisk until combined.
3. Divide the batter between the two cake pans, about 645g (22.5oz) of batter per pan, then bake for about 25-30 mins or until the cakes are firm, but your finger can still leave a mark when poked; the crust should be puffy. A toothpick should come away with a few crumbs when inserted into the center. Let the cakes cool for 1 hour, then run a palette or butter knife around the perimeter to loosen the edges. Invert the cakes on a wire rack, peel off the parchment and set the cakes rightside up to cool fully before trimming.
4. Trim the cakes evenly, then apply chocolate buttercream and stack to build.

Chocolate Fudge Frosting

1. Add everything to a medium saucepan on medium heat. Continuously stir until everything is smooth. Chill in an ice bath while continuously stirring until the mixture thickens and a spreadable consistency is achieved.

Chocolate Syrup

1. Add water and sugar to a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir to dissolve sugar. Whisk in the cacao powder and a pinch of salt. Bring to a simmer, then cut the heat and chill.

Adam's Notes

Cake Shake Assembly:

• Add a small piece of cake to the bottom of a serving glass.
• In a blender, add vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup. Drop in a slice of cake, pulse to blend.
• Pour over the cake in a serving glass and serve with a straw and spoon.

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