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The Simple Secret Behind Portillo's Famous Chocolate Cake

Chicago-based fast food chain Portillo's is known for its Chicago-style hot dogs, Italian beef sandwiches, and, somewhat unexpectedly, its chocolate cake. While it's not exactly typical fast food fare, Portillo's chocolate cake has garnered a devoted following. But what makes the cake so popular? According to the book Iconic Chicago Dishes, Drinks and Desserts, Portillo’s uses a well-known brand of cake mix plus mayonnaise. Many copycat recipes for this cake posted on the internet also use these same ingredients, so the secret is out. 

Portillo's got its start in 1963 when Dick Portillo opened a fast food stand in Villa Park out of a small trailer he named "The Dog House." The trailer didn't have a bathroom and got its running water from a garden hose hooked up to a neighboring building. Today there are more than 70 Portillo’s locations across Chicagoland and the U.S., none of them in trailers. Portillo’s added chocolate cake to its menu during its early days and it quickly became a favorite. They also serve chocolate cake shakes, and customers who sign up for Portillo’s birthday club get a free piece of chocolate cake on their birthday. Portillo’s can ship its food to recipients anywhere in the U.S.; a chocolate cake will ship for $54.99.

According to the Cookie Madness blog, people who claim to have worked at Portillo’s confirm that the copycat recipes using mayonnaise, eggs, water, and Betty Crocker cake mix and frosting are accurate, with one specification. They say that Gold Medal cake mix is actually used, but this is more of a restaurant industry product and is not available in most grocery stores. Gold Medal and Betty Crocker are both part of General Mills, so the end result is likely similar. The original recipe for the cake could have come from Hellman’s mayonnaise, since the company has a chocolate mayonnaise cake with boxed cake mix recipe calling for any brand of chocolate cake mix posted on their website.

it turns out that using mayonnaise in cakes isn't that uncommon. According to the book Retro Recipes from the '50s and '60s, which includes a chocolate mayonnaise cake recipe, the rising popularity of Miracle Whip starting in the 1940s introduced mayonnaise into a variety of recipes. And if using mayonnaise in a cake sounds gross, author Addie Gundry makes the point that mayo is basically just oil and eggs. The mayo is what makes the cake moist. Also, the Smashed Peas and Carrots blog stresses the importance of using full-fat mayonnaise in the recipe to get the desired end result. 

All of this begs the question: With such a simple recipe, why is Portillo's chocolate cake as popular as it is? Maybe the reason why people like it so much is because of how familiar it tastes. This is the cake that many of us have been eating all our lives. Portillo's secret cake recipe could have also been our moms' secret cake recipe when we were growing up.

Today, some people are posting on Reddit that Portillo’s chocolate cake is not as good as it used to be, and many are speculating that lower-quality ingredients are being used as a result of the company launching its initial public offering in 2021. But there's no need to fret, since you can easily make your own copycat Portillo’s chocolate cake at home. 

Portillo’s Chocolate Cake Copycat Recipe

*Based on a recipe by Cookie Madness

Ingredients:

  • 2 boxes Betty Crocker Super Moist Devil's Food chocolate cake mix (13.25 oz. each box)

  • ¾ to 1 cup Hellman's mayonnaise (not light) 

  • 1 cup ice cold water 

  • 3 medium-sized to large eggs 

  • 2 cans Betty Crocker chocolate frosting

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans.

  2. In a large bowl, combine mayonnaise, water, eggs, and one full box of cake mix plus ⅔ cup of cake mix from the second box. Beat by hand until mixed, then beat with an electric mixer for 4 minutes. Pour into pans.

  3. Bake 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

  4. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pans. To do this, run a butter knife around the edges of each cake and turn each pan upside down and tap the top to guide the cake out of the pan. Cool on plates for 20-30 minutes. Then cover cakes with plastic wrap and cool in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

  5. Frost the cake. To do this, first spread frosting on top of one of the layers with a spatula. Then place the other layer right side up on top of the first layer by quickly flipping it over to land on top of the bottom layer. Frost the top and sides. 

Sources:

Amy Bizzarri, Iconic Chicago Dishes, Drinks and Desserts. American Palate, 2016.

Addie Gundry, Retro Recipes from the '50s and '60s. Prime Publishing, 2017.

Shannen Mitch, “Portillo’s Chocolate Cake,” What’s Cookin,’ Chicago? blog (March 6, 2023).

“Portillo’s Chocolate Cake Copycat,” Cookie Madness blog (March 10, 2024).

“Portillo’s Chocolate Cake Recipe,” Smashed Peas and Carrots blog.

Did Portillo's Change Their Chocolate Cake Recipe?, Reddit.

Portillo's website.

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