Ebinger’s Blackout Cake
on Dec 07, 2018, Updated Jan 10, 2025
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The legend, the recipe, the famous Brooklyn Blackout Cake. This is the chocolatey, moist cake from the popular Brooklyn bakery that disappeared in 1972.
If you don’t like very chocolatey chocolate cake, then you should move along quickly. This is the lost recipe for the chocolate blackout cake from Ebinger’s bakery that devoted fans couldn’t get enough of. Now you can recreate this one-of-a-kind chocolate cake at home.
Table of Contents
Blackout Cake from Ebinger’s Bakery
Ebinger’s Bakery opened in 1898 and grew into a string of 54 bakeries all over Brooklyn — it was THE bakery, packed with favorites people were crazy about. Probably the most popular item was Ebinger’s Blackout Chocolate Cake, a rich layer cake that Brooklynites lived and died by. This cake was created during World War II and named after the mandatory blackout drills at the Brooklyn Navy Yard during that period. The following was rabid.
And then, abruptly, Ebinger’s went bankrupt in 1972 — the end of an era. A couple of failed attempts to revive the brand, but alas, it was no more. People bought these blackout cakes on the last day Ebinger’s was open and froze them, tearfully defrosting them months later, savoring the slightly compromised flavor of a time gone by. Entenmann’s made a packaged version of blackout cake for some time, though it’s no longer available.
I first read about Ebinger’s Blackout Cake in my early twenties in a wonderful cookbook by Molly O’Neill called The New York Cookbook, published in 1992, and I knew I had to make it for my grandfather for his birthday. This dessert sounded magical, the ultimate dark chocolate cake. He was then in his 80s and had grown up in Brooklyn during the heyday of Ebinger’s, and I knew he would remember it.
I readied myself to bake this legendary cake. First, the very moist and very chocolatey cake itself. Not a simple cake, a cake that involved melting chocolate, whipping egg whites, creaming, folding. I mean, not a big deal either, but you know, steps.
While the cake was baking, I made the filling, which was essentially a chocolate pudding in its own right. More stovetop cooking, lots of whisking, thickening, refrigeration. The original recipe didn’t call for much chilling of the filling, and I added some time, since I and many other bakers found it too loose to really serve as a filling.
Then the frosting: MORE stovetop cooking, 12 tablespoons of butter being added one tablespoon at a time, more whisking, refrigeration. A total of 25 ingredients in the three components.
The cake was cooled. And then, guess what? The directions said to slice it into four layers. HORIZONTALLY. And crumble one of the layers to sprinkle on top at the end.
Assembling Ebinger’s Blackout Chocolate Cake
A layer of cake, a layer of chocolate pudding filling, a layer of cake, a layer of filling, a layer of cake. Then, the ganache frosting, top and sides, and finally, the crumbs sprinkled on top. And then the kicker, says the original recipe: it must be consumed within 24 hours! (Though please — we have eaten this cake over several days with no grievances.)
The legend, the recipe. The chocolatey, moist cake from the popular Brooklyn bakery that disappeared in 1972.
My dad drove, and I carefully, carefully brought the finished cake to my grandfather’s apartment in Great Neck, Long Island, holding it gingerly on my lap.
We had dinner. I lit the candles and presented the cake, excitedly explaining that it was, in fact, THE Ebinger’s Blackout Cake of his youth. The very one people reminisced about, dreamed about. And here it was. That very cake. Right here, for his very own birthday.
The male people in my father’s family are not overly prone to effusive praise, and so at some point, I was relegated to asking my grandfather, “So, Grandpa, how do you like the cake?”
“Do you know what I like?” he asked, holding his fork aloft.
“What?” I asked, wondering what he would single out first: The flavor? The texture? The wonderful layering of components?
“Lemon,” he declared.
Really??? REALLY?????? I’ll give you a lemon, old man.
Don’t let this diatribe dissuade you. It’s quite a cake.
More Chocolate Recipes? Sure!
- Easy Chocolate Mousse
- Fudgy Chocolate Cake
- One-Pot Mexican Hot Chocolate Brownies
- Big Chewy Brownie Cookies with Dried Cherries and White Chocolate Chips
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Squares
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Ebinger’s Blackout Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Cake
- ½ cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons boiling water
- 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate (chopped)
- ¾ cup milk
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened slightly
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 large eggs (separated)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
For the Filling
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 3/4 teaspoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 2 cups boiling water
- ¾ cup plus 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 ounce bittersweet chocolate (chopped)
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon cold water
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
For the Frosting
- 12 ounces semisweet chocolate (chopped)
- 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
- ½ cup hot water
- 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 F. Butter and lightly flour two (8-inch) round cake pans.
Make the Cake
- Place the cocoa in a small bowl and whisk in the boiling water to form a paste.
- Combine the chopped chocolate and milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir frequently until the chocolate melts, about three minutes. Remove from the heat. Whisk a small amount of the hot chocolate milk into the cocoa paste to warm it. Whisk the cocoa mixture into the milk mixture. Return the pan to medium heat and stir for one minute. Remove and set aside to cool until tepid.
- In the bowl of a mixer, cream the butter and sugar together. Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time, and the vanilla. Slowly stir in the chocolate mixture. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using a spatula or a wooden spoon, slowly add the flour mixture to the chocolate mixture. Fold in until just mixed.
- In another bowl, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form. Using a spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the batter.
- Divide the batter between the prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes. Cool the cakes in the pans on a rack for 15 minutes. Gently remove the cakes from the pans and continue to cool.
Make the Filling
- While the cake is baking, combine the cocoa and boiling water in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir in the sugar and chocolate. Add the dissolved cornstarch paste and salt to the pan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil for one minute. Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla and butter. Transfer the mixture to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until it's cool and thick.
Make the Frosting
- Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over hot, not simmering, water, stirring until smooth. Remove the top of the double boiler from the heat and whisk in the butter, one tablespoon at a time. Return the top to the heat, if necessary, to melt the butter.
- Whisk in the hot water all at once and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the corn syrup and vanilla. Cover and refrigerate for about 45 minutes until it reaches a spreadable consistency.
Assemble the Cake
- Use a sharp serrated knife to slice each cake layer horizontally in half to form four layers. Set one layer aside. Place one layer on a cake round or plate. Generously swath the layer with one-half of the filling. Add the second layer and repeat. Set the third layer on top. Quickly apply a thin layer of frosting to the top and sides of the cake. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, crumble the remaining cake layer. Apply the remaining frosting to the cake. Sprinkle it liberally with the cake crumbs. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.
Made a sweet little 6in version of this over the weekend and it came out absolutely delicious. I also doubled the cornstarch for the filling and it set up well overnight but got very soft out of the fridge very quickly. The cake definitely needed to go back in the fridge for awhile before attempting to frost it.
I should not have refrigerated the frosting – even after hours back at room temp it was jussssst barely spreadable and I was a bit nervous to try warming it. Next time I think I’d wait and make the frosting right before I was ready to assemble. It looked a little rough, but the crumb coating fixed it right up!
I’m so impressed that you have an Ebinger recipe. I never had the cake, but my mother would buy me cookies with deep dark chocolate filling that I loved so much.
I couldn’t believe they closed. I was heartbroken.
By any chance, do you have the sandwich cookie recipe??
I’m so sorry, I don’t. If you find it, please send my way!
Recommend using half the water (just one cup of boiling water) for the filling or doubling the corn starch (and perhaps doubling the other ingredients. My filling just would not set up.
Katie- Thanks for an excellent article. It certainly brings back good, tasty memories.
A point of interest for you; I knew your Grandpa Bernie and Grandma Jean. Aunt Jean was my Mom’s, Flory’s, sister and often on Sundays, they would stop over to Grandma’s house with a number of Ebinger’s treats for Grandma and the crew. It was well appreciated.
My 90th birthday is just months away–stay well
Cousin Jerry
Hi Jerry! Oh my goodness it’s so nice to hear from you! I love that you actually experienced Ebinger’s with Nana and Grampa! Wishing you a very happy birthday – 90 is certainly something to celebrate!
Is there a better ecioe for the filling. Everything else came out fine however I had to refrigerate the icing almost 3 hours. The filling barely set up. Can anyone tell me if ther is an updated version out there?
this has been a common refrain, and while the filling is EXACTLY the recipe from Ebinger’s, it does need a lot of refrigeration.
Yes, the recipe in Molly O’Neills book was missing a lot of ingredients.
Arthur Ebinger unfortunately lied about a specialized chocolate Dutch process formula for the Cake. In fact, all of the ingredients then and now can be purchased at a local restaurant supply store.
Think for a moment all of the items you’re adding in the cake is quite shelf stable. The beauty of Ebinger’s Blackout cake is that there were certain ingredients that made it perishable. I have the exact recipe and will make a YouTube video to dispel the fools and make the real deal.
The moist features of the cake comes from the I total creaming of sugar & Butter, then eggs on a few rotations to fully incorporate and mix with the butter, and lastly Coffee (specialized daily brewed coffee in 1965) and Mayonnaise. This made a very rich cake.
The filling is definitely missing the milk powder and coffee (instant). But before you begin to to do anything in this step you absolutely MUST coon the milk and sugar slightly to the condensed state, then add in your chocolates, vanilla, butter, and other ingredients. You will see that the mixture is quite thickened. The Ebinger recipe does not use cornstarch.
Lastly, in the frosting—who lied about the corn syrup?
You melt down your chocolate in a double boiler until just melted then bring it to room temp, add your butter to a stand mixer, then you add in more Dutch cocoa powder, sugar, vanilla, then CREAM CHEESE, then pour in your melted chocolate and fully incorporate.
You should immediately have a thicker chocolate pudding for filling (that will still self source) and a delicious chocolate icing.
As far as the cake crumbs—you will need to make a chocolate cake syrup to put them before applying them to the cake. The cake syrup also goes on every layer before toppings.
Then assemble the cake and enjoy.
This is absolutely a very rich cake full of fat loving calories.
lots of interesting info!
I would appreciate a link to that YouTube recipe you promised. Ebinger’s was my local bakery and boy, do I miss it! Butterbun’s too!
Hello!!
Did you ever get to make this cake on your YouTube channel? Can to please share the link or your YouTube name?
Thank you!
I did not, sorry!
Would you be willing to just write out your version of the recipe?
Hi. Did you ever post your recipe to YouTube? I’d love to see it.
I had the same problem, but expected that when I started out. when I make chocolate pudding,the ratio is 1/4 cup corn starch to two cups of liquid. I tried the recipe as written, and when the filling didn’t become thick enough, I rewarmed some of it, added the additional corn starch, and then mixed in the remainder of the mixture.
I double the cornstarch.
Looking forward to making this as I, too, can still taste this cake from my youth. One question, where is the “note” re: filling you have referred to ?
Lynda, please see the updated clarifications in the recipe. The original recipe called for less cool time for both the filling and the frosting, but I and others have found that neither thicken up enough, so I added to the cooling times. I hope it lives up to your memories!
Made this for a friend’s birthday and it was an absolutely beautiful cake. I’m an experienced baker and had fun making it. The multiple steps seemed a bit daunting but with a few tweaks it turned out wonderfully. I needed more boiling water than 2 tbsps. to make the cocoa paste. I used double the cornstarch and cold water to get the filling to set. The frosting recipe was perfect and made a great fudgy frosting. The family had waay too much fun smashing the cake crumbs on the outside of the cake. We assembled the cake in advance but waited until just before to add the cake crumbs to the oustide so that they did not dry out.
I had the same problem with cocoa powder water ratio. Nowhere near enough to even dampen the cocoa powder. I doubled it, then after trying to mix, dribbled some more water in the mix. I added another tbsp corn starch with 1/2 tbsp water, in a slurry, to the completed gravy like filling, and re boiled it, and rerefrigerated it. It was still soft, but you could work with it. Definitely a recipe for chocoholics. I ate some of the original Ebingers cake, pre 1972. Their cake layers and crumbs were softer, than mine, but the flavor is real close. Guess I need to make another couple to master the techniques!
Had the same issue as others. The filling was just too runny. never thickened up. had to toss it and use regular chocolate pudding, the frosting and cake were perfect.
I made this. I’m no baker, but it came out fine. Two issues I had. One is that there either was not enough cornstarch in the filling to allow it to set up, or there wasn’t enough time. It was in the refrigerator for about 90 minutes. The other issue was that the frosting was too thin to apply. The recipe says “up to 15 minutes” in the fridge. I would say at least fifteen minutes until it begins to set. Otherwise, this was great, and delicious.
yes, I think the filling is a little loose, but it is in fact Ebinger’s recipe! I will make a note in the post about the frosting, thank you!
I’m afraid to try!! I’ve only made box cake mix… This sounds amazing!!