Brooklyn Blackout Cake

Brooklyn blackout cake is the legendary chocolate cake that Brooklyn built — three layers of intensely dark chocolate cake filled and frosted with chocolate pudding, then covered in a blizzard of chocolate cake crumbs. It was created by Ebinger’s Bakery, which dominated Brooklyn’s pastry scene for seven decades until it closed in 1972; the recipe’s fans have been recreating it ever since. The name honors the wartime blackout drills — and the cake is so dark it fits the theme.

Why this recipe works: This is chocolate at full volume: a moist, deep cocoa cake, a rich chocolate pudding that doubles as filling and frosting, and a crumb coating that adds texture and keeps the cake from being cloying. The crumbs are the signature — they make every bite interesting and hide any imperfect frosting job.

Key ingredients

• Dark cocoa powder: Dutch-process for the deepest color and flavor.
• Buttermilk and hot coffee: the moist crumb.
• Chocolate pudding: made from scratch with milk, cocoa, sugar, and cornstarch — the filling and frosting.
• Cake crumbs: crumbled from one baked layer (or trimmings) and pressed all over.

Tips for the best blackout cake

Make the pudding first so it has time to chill until completely cold and thick. Bake the cake in three 9-inch rounds until a toothpick comes out clean; cool completely. Crumble one layer (or just the trimmings) into fine crumbs for the coating — dry the crumbs in a low oven for a few minutes if they are soft. Assemble with generous layers of pudding, coat the outside with pudding, then press the crumbs all over. Chill for at least 4 hours before slicing; it cuts cleanly only when fully set.

Variations and storage

Add a layer of raspberry jam for a bright contrast, or spike the pudding with a little espresso or bourbon. The cake keeps 3 to 4 days in the fridge and actually deepens in flavor overnight. It does not freeze as well as it eats fresh — this one is worth making for the moment.

New York recipes →