Chocolate Mud Cake
This is a cake which I wanted to bake for so long. Mud cake is one of the most popular cake just like chocolate cake. The only difference between a mud cake and chocolate cake is, mud cake is more rich, dark, fudgy and intensely chocolaty. And please don’t ask for the substitute for eggs in this recipe, because you need eggs in this recipe for the cake to rise and set.
About Chocolate Mud Cake
Chocolate mud cake is a delicious rich and decadent chocolate cake. This taste so moist and fudgy which makes you crave more and more. This cake is very rich and it is the tallest single tier cake which I ever baked. It came out so tall and the cake hold really well as well. Plus it was so soft and moist just like eating a chocolate bar. Follow the recipe which I have mentioned in the recipe to the T and you will have the perfect cake. I can assure you. You can never go wrong with this recipe. I decorated this cake using a chocolate ganache, but you can use chocolate buttercream frosting. You can leave this cake without frosting as well. And you can even split the cake half in the middle and frost it as well, so you have a two layered cake.
Similar Recipes,
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Mud Cake Ingredients
All Purpose Flour - I used plain flour for this cake. plain flour with wheat flour may make the cake denser. So I wouldn’t recommend it. Sugar - obviously all cake needs sugar. I used refined sugar and you cannot substitute it with brown sugar which may affect the texture of the cake. Chocolate - this cake taste best when finest quality ingredients are used. It is a chocolate forward cake, so try and use the best quality dark chocolate or semi sweet chocolate in this recipe. Raising Agent - even though this cake looks dense and rich, it needs baking powder and baking soda to make it mud like texture. Eggs - one of the most essential ingredient which makes this tall chocolate cake bake evenly. don’t ask for the substitute for eggs in this recipe, because you need eggs in this recipe for the cake to rise and set. Milk & Oil - I used whole milk and very little oil in this cake which helps keep the cake moist and tender. Coffee - a good amount of coffee goes into the cake. 2 tbsp of coffee is used in this cake, but it doesn’t make the cake coffee flavoured. A small amount of coffee enhances the chocolate flavour in this cake. Chocolate ganache - This cake doesn’t need any frosting on it. But I like to cover this rich mud cake with a decadent ganache makes this cake taste so amazing.
Difference between Chocolate Cake & Mud Cake
While both chocolate cake and mud cake looks same and has chocolate in it. The difference between a mud cake and chocolate cake depends mainly on the texture. Mud cake is a delicious cake which resembles the mud along the banks of the river. Hence the name. The texture is more rich and dense looking than spongy chocolate cake. Mud cake is more rich, dense and has intense chocolate flavour while chocolate cake is more spongy, light and fluffy texture. Chocolate cake can be paired with buttercream or any frosting while mud cake goes with chocolate ganache. Recipe for making mud cake will vary too. It has a modest amount of chocolate, butter, sugar added in water to make slightly liquidy batter which then baked results in a dense intense chocolate mud cake.
How to Make Chocolate Mud Cake (4 easy steps)
Pre-Preparation Preheat oven to 150 degree C. Line the base and sides of a 20 cm deep round pan with parchment paper.
Chocolate Mud Cake Batter Preparation
Take water in a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Add in coffee, butter, dark chocolate and heat it gently till it is melted. Add in sugar and whisk well till it is completely melted. Pour this in a bowl and set aside to cool down a bit. Now sift flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Now add in milk to the chocolate mix, oil, add in one egg at a time and whisk it well. Add in the sifted flour mix in and mix well. Batter is done.
Baking Chocolate Mud Cake
Pour this in the prepared pan and pop it in oven for 1.45 hours to 2 hours. Now remove it from oven and let it cool completely.
Frosting & Serving Mud Cake
un mould from tin and cut the top with a serrated knife. Spoon the ganache on top and spread on all sides. Decorate as you wish. Chill in fridge for couple of hours. Serve.
How to Make Mud Cake (Stepwise pictures)
Pre-preparation
1)Preheat oven to 150 degree C | 300 Degree F. Line the base and sides of a 20 cm deep round pan with parchment paper. Make sure the parchment comes above the pan, since the cake when baked will rise a lot. 2)Take dark chocolate bar and chop into small pieces so it melts easily. Instead of dark chocolate you can use semi sweet chocolate chips as well.
Wet Ingredients
3)Take water in a sauce pan. We are going to melt the chocolate and prepare the wet ingredients in this sauce pan. This cake batter is going to be very liquidy which helps achieve the texture of the mud cake. 4)Add in instant coffee powder. I had some espresso, so added that into the water. You can add 2 tbsp of instant coffee powder or instant espresso. Pro Tip: a good amount of coffee goes into the cake. 2 tbsp of coffee is used in this cake, but it doesn’t make the cake coffee flavoured. A small amount of coffee enhances the chocolate flavour in this cake. 5)Add butter into the water. This is unsalted butter which I used. Pro Tip: Make sure your butter is at room temperature so the butter melts faster without making the water boil over. 6)I added the chopped chocolate into the butter. Instead of chocolate, you can use chocolate chips as well. Pro Tip: this cake taste best when finest quality ingredients are used. It is a chocolate forward cake, so try and use the best quality dark chocolate or semi sweet chocolate in this recipe. 7)Add in the sugar. You have to use refined sugar, this is granulated refined sugar. 8)Place the pot on low heat and mix until the butter, chocolate and sugar is melted completely. Cook this on very low heat so nothing burns at the bottom. Also make sure you stir it constantly. 9)Pour the mixture into another big mixing bowl and allow them to cool completely. Use bigger mixing bowl, because we are going to make the rest of the cake batter in this same bowl.
Dry Ingredients
10)Place a sieve over a sheet of parchment paper. Take all purpose flour in a sieve. Don’t substitute it with wheat flour, it may affect the texture of the cake.
11)Add in cocoa powder. Try to use best quality cocoa powder which enhances the chocolate flavour without making it taste gritty.
12)Add in baking powder and baking soda. I like to add it with the plain flour for even mixing.
13)Add in salt. Since I have used unsalted butter, I can control how much salt goes into the cake. So it is best to use unsalted butter for cakes and cookies.
14)Sieve this mixture till it is combined. You can transfer this mix into a bowl and sieve it once more for even mixing.
Make Mud Cake Batter
15)Now the chocolate butter mixture is warm enough. Make sure the mixture is warm and now super hot. Because we are going to add in eggs, if you add eggs to hot mixture then it may curdle. Pour in milk to the warm mix. I used whole milk, but you can use almond milk or soy milk. 16)Add in oil. I used flavourless vegetable oil. This is very little oil, it helps to preserve the cake moist longer. 17)Add in eggs. Add in one egg at a time and mix well. Once one egg is combined, add the other eggs and mix. Make sure the mixture is warm and now super hot. Because we are going to add in eggs, if you add eggs to hot mixture then it may curdle. 18)Use a whisk to combine this really well. Now the chocolate liquid mix is ready. 19)Add in the dry ingredients which we have sifted earlier. You can add it in batches for even mixing. but I like to add it in one go. 20)use a whisk and gently combine the dry ingredients into the wet mixture. The batter is ready. The batter will be liquidy in texture, do not worry. It is supposed to be like that.
Baking Mud Cake
21)Pour the batter in the prepared pan carefully. The batter will fill almost to the top of the cake pan. But do not worry, since we have made higher parchment ring, the cake will bake just fine. 22)Place the cake carefully into the preheated oven and bake for 1.45 hours to 2 hours. Yes it is going to take a long time to bake. Since the cake is a tall cake, it has to bake in a lower temperature oven for a long time so the cake can bake all the way through more evenly. Once the timer is up. Insert a skewer or a uncooked spaghetti to check whether the cake is baked or not. The skewer should come out clean. Then you know that the cake is baked. But remember to not over bake the cake, It is going to carry on baking as it cools. Now remove the cake from oven and let it cool completely. 23)Once it is cooled for at least 30 minutes in the cake pan, gently un mould the cake on a serving platter. Allow it to cool further in the platter.
Frosting for the Cake
24)I like to decorate this cake using a chocolate ganache, but you can use chocolate buttercream frosting too. You can leave this cake without frosting as well. And you can even split the cake half in the middle and frost it as well, so you have a two layered cake. I made a batch of chocolate ganache the previous day itself. 25)For frosting the cake. i like to remove the crusty top of the cake for smooth finish. Use a serrated knife or bread knife to cut a thin layer on the top of the cake. You can see how moist the cake is. Don’t throw away the scraps, you can use them to make cake pops or have a snack. 26)Take half of the ganache. Spoon the ganache on top. 27)Spread the ganache on the top using a knife or spatula. You don’t need a thick layer of frosting for the cake. A thin layer of ganache is enough. 28)spread the ganache on all sides as well. I like to make the cake look rustic so I don’t smooth the ganache. 29)Done. 30)Decorate as you wish. Chill in fridge for couple of hours. Serve. 31)Delicious looking mud cake.
How I Turned Mud Cake into a Birthday Cake
I made this mud cake for my sister’s b’day. I placed some kit kat bars all around the cakes and tied it with a ribbon, then I just arranged some coloured candy (m&m’s or gems) on the sides of the cake.
Expert Tips
Measure the ingredients either using a kitchen scale or measuring scale for better results. Make sure the butter chocolate mix is cool enough before you add in eggs. Else the egg may curdle. Use best quality dark or semi sweet chocolate in this recipe. Use unsalted butter, so you can control the salt level in the cake. The cake has to be baked at lower temperature for longer time, so the cake doesn’t burn.
How to Bake this Mud Cake in Two Round Pan for 2 Layered Cake
You can bake this cake in two 20 cm or 8 inch round cake. Make sure you line the bottom and sides of the cake pan with parchment paper. Divide the cake batter between two cake pans. Bake at 160 degree C for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Make sure you check whether the cake is baked or not using a tooth pick.
Hungry for More Chocolate Desserts
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