MUD CAKE

Several people have asked me for the recipe for the Mud Cake I made for Matt's party.

So here it is. It's a long recipe but it is super easy to make and it totally luscious!!!!

Chocolate Mud Cake Recipe (serves 16...at least!)

Note: USE A WHISK TO STIR INGREDIENTS TOGETHER

Cake ingredients

250g cooking chocolate (half dark, half milk)

250g salted butter

1 tsp instant coffee granules/powder (decaf is fine)

¾ cup (188ml) water

2 cups + 2 Tb (325g) plain flour

¼ cup + 2 tsp (30g) cocoa powder

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 ½ cups (550g) caster sugar

4 large eggs (min weight 59g)

2 Tb (40ml) peanut oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ cup (125ml) buttermilk

Ganache

150g milk chocolate

150g dark chocolate

1/3 cup (84ml) thickened cream (not lite/fat reduced cream)

Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celcius (150* fan forced)

Grease and line (with non stick baking paper) sides and base of a deep 23cm or 24cm diameter deep cake pan. If you have a spring form tin it will be a little easier to remove. Extend the paper above the top rim of pan.

Place chocolate, butter, coffee, and water in large saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally. When choc and butter have melted, remove from heat and allow to cool to room temp.

Sift flour, cocoa and bicarb together in very large bowl.

Add sugar to flour mix and whisk together until well combined.

In a medium bowl, place eggs, oil, vanilla and buttermilk. Whisk together until well combined.

Add the egg mix to the flour mix and whisk until well combined

Add choc mix to egg and flour mix in three batches, stirring until combined after each addition.

Pour mix into prepared pan

Bake for about 1hr +15mins (24cm tin) 1 hr +30 min (23cm tin). Insert a thin bladed knife or a wooden skewer into centre of cake to test whether cake is cooked through. If the knife/skewer comes out clean or with moist (not gooey) crumbs attached, it’s ready. If not, return to oven for further 5-10 min before testing again.

Cool in pan (cover with a tea towel)

When the cake is room temp remove from tin. Cake may have a crusty edge, you can remove if you wish (but make sure you eat it or share it with someone because it’s yummy)

Turn cake upside down to give a flat surface for icing.

Make ganache and spread over with a palette or flat blade knife.

Store cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator and allow to come to room temp before serving.

Ganache

Place chocolate + cream in a medium heavy-based saucepan over very low heat. Stir frequently, and remove from heat when chocolate has just melted and mixture is smooth. Allow ganache to cool slightly to obtain a spreadable consistency.

If you have larger or smaller pans you wish to use, just shoot me an email at mksayers@iinet.net.au

and I can give you the quantities for your particular pan.