Chocolate Mud Cake with Malted Whipped Cream
Rich chocolate mud cake, smoothed with milk chocolate ganache and topped with malted whipped cream - what could be more delicious?
Servings: 12 servings
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 3 eggs medium
- 140 g caster sugar
- 100 g soft brown sugar
- 180 g milk chocolate
- 100 ml vegetable oil
- 150 g plain flour
- 45 g cocoa powder
- ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 180 ml water
- 20 ml strong coffee cooled (even if you don’t love coffee I recommend you add this!)
For the milk chocolate ganache:
- 300 g milk chocolate roughly chopped
- 300 ml double cream
For the malted whipped cream (this makes a tower of whipped cream, use 500ml if you want a more standard layer):
- 1200 ml double cream
- 1 tbsp icing sugar sifted
- 1 tbsp malt powder horlicks or ovaltine (optional)
- Dusting of cocoa powder to finish or could also use chocolate shavings
Instructions
To make the mud cake:
- Preheat your oven to 150°C fan.
- Line and grease an 8-inch round cake tin.
- Melt the milk chocolate in short burst s in the microwave until smooth. Go slowly and at a low temperature. You could also use a double-boiler.
- Add the eggs and sugar to a bowl with an electric whisk. Whisk the eggs and sugars until light and foamy. This will take a few minutes so it’s worth using an electric whisk but of course you can use good old fashioned elbow grease.
- Once light and foamy, you can slowly add the melted chocolate. Keep whisking to incorporate and then add the oil.
- Now add flour, cocoa, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Add the water and the coffee. Mix well to combine and then pour into your prepared tin.
- Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. The cake is ready if the skewer comes out clean. If there are any crumbs attached to the skewer, pop the cake back into the oven for several minutes.
- Once cooked, remove the cake from the oven and leave to cool completely in the tin.
For the milk chocolate ganache:
- Heat the cream in a pan until it’s shimmering but not bubbling. Then remove from the heat and stir in the chopped chocolate. Whisk until there are no lumps of chocolate and leave to set at room temp until it’s a spreadable consistency.
For the whipped cream:
- Simply add the cream, the icing sugar and the malt powder to a bowl and whisk until thickened. Careful not to over-whisk it.
- To assemble the cake:
- Once cool, remove the cake from the tin. You can use a serrated knife to cut the top off to level it out but I never do with this cake recipe. Then smother the top with the chocolate ganache. Pile on the whipped cream and leave to chill in the fridge for a few hours.
- Remove from the fridge about 20 minutes before serving (unless it’s very hot in which case it’s safer to keep it in the fridge otherwise the cream will be a melty disaster). Dust with cocoa powder and slice and enjoy.
Notes
Scroll up for a step by step guide with images on how to make chocolate mud cake.
To store: Cover or transfer to airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 3 days. It will last longer without the whipped cream on top - more like 5 days if it's just the mud cake with chocolate ganache (or on its own). If it doesn't have any ganache or cream on top, I like to store it at room temperature for the best texture.
To freeze: You can freeze the mud cake without the ganache and cream. Wrap tightly in cling film and a layer of foil and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight at room temperature until fully thawed.
Make ahead: Mud cakes almost get better over a few days so yes you can prep ahead of time. I tend to bake the cake a day ahead and let it cool completely in the tin as this gives it a great fudgy texture. Then decorate on the day you want to serve. You could make the cake a few days in advance but if you’re leaving it longer than just one night, make sure you wrap the cake in clingfilm or store in an airtight container.
Cooking time: As this is such a dense, rich cake, you want it to be fully cooked through. Don't err on the side of underbaked like you would with brownies. Otherwise, you can end up with a stodgy, raw centre once it settles. Once you remove it from the oven, it shouldn't jiggle at all in the centre. The skewer should also come out of the cake totally clean, no crumbs.
Cooling in the tin: Cooling the cake in the tin until totally room temperature ensures the best, fudgiest texture. If you have time, I would really recommend doing this.