This is a soft, dense mud cake with a rich ganache icing. We serve the cake on its own or with cream and ice cream. Slices of the cake can be microwaved before serving to melt the ganache and form a chocolate sauce.
We use a combination of milk and dark chocolate in both the cake and ganache.
250g chocolate (we use 125g dark chocolate and 125g milk chocolate) 250g butter (if using unsalted butter, add 1/4 teaspoon salt with the butter) 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules/powder 188ml (3/4 cup) water 325g (2 cups plus 2 tablespoons) plain flour 30g (1/4 cup plus 2 teaspoons) cocoa powder 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) 550g (2 1/2 cups) caster sugar 4 large eggs (we use eggs with a minimum weight of 59g) 2 tablespoons (40ml) oil (we use peanut oil, but any mild-flavoured oil could be used) 1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract 125ml (1/2 cup) buttermilk
Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius (not fan-forced).
Grease the side and base of a deep 23cm or 24cm diameter (inside top measurement) round cake pan. We use a springform pan for easy removal of the cake. Line base and side of the pan with non-stick baking paper, extending the paper a few centimetres above the top rim of the pan.
Sift the flour, cocoa powder and bicarbonate of soda together into a very large bowl. Add the caster sugar to the bowl with the flour mixture, and stir the ingredients together until well combined. For this recipe, we prefer to use a whisk to stir ingredients together. In a medium bowl, place eggs, oil, vanilla and buttermilk. Whisk the wet ingredients together until well combined.
Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir until well combined.
Add the chocolate mixture to the egg and flour mixture in a three batches, stirring until combined after each addition. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes (24cm pan) or 1 hour and 30 minutes (23cm pan). Insert a thin-bladed knife or wooden skewer into the centre of the cake to test whether it is cooked through. If the knife/skewer comes out clean or with moist crumbs (not gooey batter) attached, the cake is ready. If not, return the cake to the oven and bake for a further 5-10 minutes before testing again.
When cooked through, remove cake from oven, cover with a clean tea towel and allow to cool in the pan.
When the cake has cooled to room temperature, remove it from the pan. The top surface of the cake will probably have a crunchy crust, which you may wish to trim off. We turn the cake upside down to give a flat surface for icing.
Make ganache. Spread ganache over cake using a palette knife or flat-bladed knife.
We store the cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature before serving.
Edited 15/01/09: To help prevent the cake from sinking in the middle, we reduced the quantity of raising agent used (replaced 155 grams of self-raising flour with 155 grams plain flour, bringing the total quantity of plain flour to 325 grams). One teaspoon of vanilla extract was added for extra flavour. To give the ganache a smoother appearance, we omitted 60 grams of butter and increased the quantity of cream from 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup.
The following photo was submitted by Silvana C. Silvana made and decorated this large chocolate mud cake for her niece's 21st birthday. The stars were made by a cake decorator and finished by dipping in melted chocolate. White and dark chocolate panels were placed around the sides of the cake and it was finished with a bow. Ingredients: Double the above quantities Pan size: 12 inch (30.5cm) square Baking time and temperature: 1 hour and 45 minutes at 160 degrees Celsius (not fan-forced), covered with baking paper.
The following photo was submitted by Jade, who made this cake for her brother-in-law's birthday party. The design is from Naughty Cakes by Debbie Brown. The box was made from a layer of dark chocolate mud cake (above recipe), a layer of white chocolate mud cake, and a layer of madeira sponge cake. It was frosted with buttercream and covered with fondant. The box flaps were made from pastillage and decorated with fondant flowers. The lady was made from dark chocolate mud cake (base) and modelling paste (torso, arms and head).
Pan sizes: 18cm square (for the box), half a Wilton 3D sports ball pan (for the base of the lady). Baking times and temperatures: The dark chocolate mud cake square and half ball pan were baked at 150 degrees Celsius (fan-forced) for 1 hour and 15 minutes. The white chocolate mud cake square was baked at 150 degrees Celsius (fan-forced) for 1 hour and 10 minutes.
The following photo was submitted by Sandy H. Sandy made this Dora the Explorer cake for her daughter's birthday. The cake was frosted with chocolate ganache (hair), and white chocolate ganache coloured with chocolate colouring powder (skin). Dora's eyes, nose and mouth were made from chocolate. Ingredients: Double the quantities in the above recipe Pan size: 30cm square (the square cake was cut to shape) Baking time and temperature: About 1 hour and 45 minutes at 160 degrees Celsius (not fan-forced), covered with baking paper.
The following photo was submitted by Alison C. Alison made this dark and white chocolate mud cake for her brother's wedding. The cake was iced with ganache and decorated with Belgian chocolate cigarellos. Pan sizes: 28cm diameter (bottom tier), 23cm diameter (middle tier), 18cm diameter (top tier). Ingredients: For the bottom tier, the quantities in the above recipe were multiplied by 1 1/2. The middle tier was made according to the above recipe. This white chocolate mud cake recipe was used for the top tier.
The following photo was submitted by Lukasz K., who made this cake for a friend's birthday. The top of the cake was levelled with ganache and then the cake was covered with fondant. The decorations were made from coloured fondant. Pan: 25cm square pan. The sides of the pan were wrapped in three layers of paper and tied with string. Baking time and temperature: 150 degrees Celsius (fan-forced) for about 2 hours. Ingredients: The above quantities were multiplied by 1 1/2.
The following photo was submitted by Ashley K., who made this cake for her daughter's christening. The cake was iced with white chocolate ganache and decorated with ribbon and chocolate shavings. Ingredients: The bottom tier was made using the above recipe. This white chocolate mud cake recipe was used for the top tier. Baking times and temperatures: As specified in the corresponding recipes. Pan sizes: 25cm diameter (bottom tier), 21cm diameter (top tier).
The following wedding cake photo was submitted by Louise. The chocolate mud cutting cake and cupcakes were iced with white chocolate ganache and decorated with lilac-coloured chocolate hearts.
My (almost 3) daughter tried a packet mix choc mud cake a few weeks ago and has gone on about it ever since! She's asked for mud cake for her birthday which is Friday (25/8). I'm going to try this recipe - will let you know how it goes...
I made this cake for my engagement party and it turned out fantastic!! I had a small square cake (1 batch of ingredients) on top of a larger one (2 batches of ingredients) & decorated it with white chocolate panels & dark chocolate curls. Everyone at the party was so amazed & just raved about it. I even got a request to do the same thing for a 21st!
I made this exquisite mud cake for my son's 11th birthday which he loved immensely. I just made it as instructed and it had a light and moist texture for a mud cake. A brilliant recipe - well pleased.
I made this last week, the cake was a huge hit and the ganache tasted divine but it was forming into a ball in the saucepan and the ingredients didn't melt smoothly. Apart from that it was fabulous
Hi The first time I made the cake it was almost perfect except the were cracks on the top so I shaved off the top. Second time the cake cracked as well. Any tips on why the cake cracked and how to make sure it turns out moist? Fyi, I melt the choc in the microwave and the texture is not as smooth as stove top method. Does that affect the texture and density of the cake. Pls help. Thank you and have a good day.
This cake does have a crusty/crackled top. We aren't sure how to avoid this. Next time we bake this cake, we will try covering the top with a layer of baking paper to see whether that makes a difference.
If you would like the cake to be moister, you could try slightly reducing the oven temperature or baking time.
If you are unable to get a smooth result when melting the chocolate in the microwave, we would suggest using the stovetop method. Otherwise, the texture of the cake may be negatively affected.
Thank you for this fantastic recipe! I have always wanted to make a mud cake but thought it would be too hard - however this recipe was easy and it tasted amazing. I had a request to make it again for a farewell party! Love the website overall, so many new things to try...
You could try this substitute for the buttermilk: place 2 teaspoons of lemon juice in a half cup (125 ml capacity), then fill with milk. The mixture will probably develop a curdled appearance similar to that of buttermilk.
Hi, I also notice that the you bake the chocolate cake in the 20cm pan. What is the diffrence between the mud cake and the normal chocolate cake? I am planning to make a cake for my husband 30th b'day this weekend. Which one do you recommend me to bake? I also plan to use a white chocolate ganach,will that work?
This recipe makes too much batter for a 20cm diameter round tin. If you wanted to use that tin size, you would need to use more than one tin, or cut the recipe down. Unfortunately, we haven't tested the cooking time required for a 20cm tin so you would need to keep an eye on the cake and test it with a knife/skewer as described in the recipe above.
The chocolate cake is lighter and fluffier than the mud cake. If made to the above recipe, the mud cake is larger than the chocolate cake and would probably serve twice as many people. We would recommend that you choose whichever type of cake you and your husband prefer.
We would prefer milk or dark chocolate ganache on this cake and on the chocolate cake (we have only ever used white chocolate ganache on white chocolate mud cake).
This recipe is divine - I baked it in a 20cm round tin for 1hr 15mins at 145degrees celsius fan-forced oven, and used the rest of the batter in a half sports ball pan, and it worked out perfect - very moist and chocolatey.
The top of the cake was pretty smooth and didn't crack at all.
i wanted to make this cake in 2 tiers for a party of 60. What would you recomend for the 2 tin sizes i use if i make the top tier 1 batch and the second layer 2 batches
When I made this delicious cake... the way I dealt with the cracked top (first of all i did what you said i turned it over so the hard bit was on the bottom) was once I put the icing on and left it in the fridge over night, I took it out cut them up in to squares then cut about 1cm of the bottom of the cake squares which left a fully soft yummy cake!
the mud cake tasted really nice and moist, the cake appeared flat and smooth but once i cut the cut I realised that just underneath the surface there was a big air bubble in the middle, I've made this cake three times and the same thing happened everytime. Can you tell me how to fix this if you know? thanks
Regarding the air bubble in the middle of this cake: we haven't had this problem so, unfortunately, we aren't sure how to fix it. If you make this cake again, could you email us a photo showing the air bubble?
Ideally, we would make this cake 1-2 days in advance. However, we have stored it (in an airtight container in the fridge) for up to a week.
We haven't used this recipe to make cupcakes, but it should be fine to do so. Just be aware that the recipe will probably make a large number of cupcakes (you might want to halve the recipe). Also, don't put too much batter in the cases as this mixture has a tendency to rise and overflow in the oven.
To the poster who asked about baking this cake in advance - I've baked this cake 4 days in advance and then popped it in the freezer because I had to assemble 3 layers ofr the cake I was decorating for a birthday. First I let the cake cool completely, then I clingwrapped it in 2 layers, and then 2 layers of foil to prevent freezer burn. Put it in your freezer on a firm surface. When defrosted to room temperature and cut, the cake looked very moist and tasted fantastic and very fresh.
If you can't turn off the fan in your oven, we would suggest that you bake this cake at 150 degrees Celsius. The cake may require a slightly shorter baking time.
Unless you have a pan that is more than 9cm high, you will need to line the pan with baking paper that extends past the rim. This is necessary because the mixture rises up past the rim of the pan during baking.
I just made this cake for my daughter's 3rd Birthday and it was a real hit. I baked a double quantity of the recipe in a 30cm square cake tin. I then cut out the shape of Dora the Explorer's face and iced ti with the chocolate ganache icing for her hair. I made a white chocolate ganache for her face and coloured it with chocolate colouring powder and also flavoured it with orange oil. The eyes, nose and mouth were made form chocolate and then pushed into the icing. Not only did it look fantastic but it tasted awesome, a very moist cake but not too rich. This will definitely be the recipe of choice for future special occasion cakes!
To see a picture of the cake just click on the link above(gabby's mum said...)
Hi, I have volunteered to make the cake for my brothers wedding and am in search of a good mud cake recipe. Is this recipe suitable for a tiered wedding cake? and if so would it do three tiers or just two? And finally what sized tiers and the corresponding recipe amounts do you suggest? Sorry for all the questions - I thought he would want a fruit cake and I can do these!!
I have made this cake twice in the last two days and have had a flop. The centre of the first one dropped but it wasn't cooked properly. I used a 25in tin and cooked it on 160 for 1hr 25 mins.Hence the feeling that my oven temperature is not reading true. Yesterday I tried again with the temp 170 for 1hr 55mins and the centre still dropped a bit and I think it could have been cooked a bit longer still. I am having another go late today and 180. Any suggestions?
hey i saw a recipe for a icing you just use the norm recipie but u cover the entire cake with chocolate frekels it so yummy and great for the kids and entertaining
I'm also looking for a chocolate mud cake recipe to have made for my wedding. It will need to be for about 70 people and will be covered in the white icing. Is this recipe appropriate? It will also be in a really hot climate (ie. a beach wedding) - will this be a problem? Thanks!
My partner and i had a last minute decision for having a cake for our son's 1st birthday on the 03/12, We found this recipe and we we're so amazed how it turned out we didnt think we pulled it off but it made our son's birthday turn out great for a last minute cake... Thank you so much for letting everyone use your recipe....
This recipe could be multiplied and baked in a larger pan to serve 70. If you are using only white icing on the cake (not ganache) then it should be suitable for a wedding in a hot climate.
Please can you tell me if the cooking chocolate which you use is sweetened? I'm from Sri Lanka and the cooking chocolate I use over here is sweet generally. If so, how do I adjust the sugar used in the recipe? The pics look great. I want to try this after I get the sugar problem sorted out. Thanks.
We use eating chocolate in this recipe, and it is sweetened. We use a dark chocolate that contains 51.5g sugars per 100g, and a milk chocolate that contains 55.5g of sugars per 100g.
hi im making a wedding cake that is going to be three teirs the bottom being a choc mud cake the middle a white choc and the top being a fruit cake, it is to feed 100people and i was just wondering if the bottom layer will take the weight of the top two, and how much mix shoul i make up for the bottom layer
Your website has been a godsend!! I have volunteered to bake my brothers wedding cake...and only found out then that they are having 160 people! The whole cake will be chocolate mud, and I am going to use your receipe. Are you able to tell me though, for that many people, I'm thinking three layers but am unsure of sizes....can you help???
I forgot to ask also in my previous question about chocolate mud tin sizes for my brothers wedding of 160. For the appropriate sizes of tins you suggest - how many quantities of your recipe would I need for each. Thanks again. Cherie
hi! i baked this cake and it was fantastic! However, i only used half of the sugar required and it still tasted great. thanks heaps for the recipe - i will definitely make it again!
I am making a 4 tiered wedding cake for my son using your mud cake recipe. The cake has a lovely taste and texture but the bottom tin is 28cm so I doubled the mix and baked it at 160 non fan forced and it sunk about 1cm in the middle. I did put a piece of baking paper on the top. The wedding is in 2 weeks, any suggestions? Also the other three tins are 23, 19, 13cm x 7 1/2cm depth any ideas of temps and times for these tins. Your help is much appreciated.
Hi....I'd like to make this for my daughter's birthday cake. It's for children so I was wondering if the coffee powder is necessary? I dont think the kids will like the flavour. Also would I put more of something else instead if I did not have it? Thankyou very much..I just LOVE your recipes!!
Will the cake be served as dessert (larger slices), or in addition to dessert (smaller slices)?
Hi Linda,
Did the cake seem a little undercooked in the centre? Cakes may sink if they are not fully cooked in the centre, so we would suggest increasing the baking time. If you are using round tins, then the 23cm diameter cake can be baked as instructed in the recipe above. We can't really advise as to the baking times/temperatures for other tin sizes because we haven’t tested them.
Hi, The cake is beautiful. Rich yet light. I normally do not go for mud cakes, but I did like this recipe. Just a note though on the description. You have castor sugar in the recipe, but you did not mention at what stage to put it in. I nearlly missed it :) and put into the melted ingredients when already took them off th estove. Guess, the structure was not exactly the one it meant to be at the end as sugar did not fully dissolve. Anyways, can you clarify this in the recipe? Thanks a lot! Yana
I am about do do a "test run" of your choc. mud cake for my daughter's wedding. The cake will be used for desert and will therefore need to be suitable for approx. 90 people.The cake will be cut into rectangular pieces to be served and will be iced with ganache.Do you have any suggestions to how I can decorate the top of the cake to make it look like a simple wedding cake?
Sorry we have taken so long to reply. The coffee flavour in this cake isn’t particularly strong, but you could just omit it from the recipe if you like (there's no need to replace it with another ingredient).
This cake is amazing! I made it for my friends B'day and i was suprised at how well the cake turned out. I used a 25cm square tin (1 and 1/2 batches) and baked for approx 2 hours at 150 degrees (fan forced) It sunk a little in the middle so my guess is it probablly needed another 10-15mins but otherwise it was perfect. I also wrapped the side of the tin with some folded newspaper (3 layers) and tied it with a piece of string. This stopped the cake burning and it was moist right from the very edge. I am very impressed with this recipe and can't wait to try all the different variations. Will definately be a regular visitor here.
i have been asked to make my brothers wedding cake, he wants a mud cake that is moist and rich, i have tried other recipes and i haven't been very successful. the cake si to be two tier and have either a dark chocolate ganahe or a white or chocolate icing. it is to about 120 people. can you recommand what sort of tins either square or round and how many times i should do the cake mix?
To the person asking about the wedding cake to serve 120: Will the cake be served as dessert (larger slices), or in addition to dessert (smaller slices)?
To the person asking about the coffee granules: Please see our comment dated 7/2/08.
HI, wanting to make the 3 tiered mud cake for a wedding and have never done it before. If you put one on top of the other will it hold? Or do I need to use separators? Thanks
Hi, I plan to make this cake as the top tier on a cupcake display so I only want to make a 20cm cake. How much batter should I put in the tin? Should it be filled 1/2 or 3/4? Thanks.
Hi, I'm thinking of making a mudcake for a wedding. It would be served as dessert (large slices) for 100-120 people. Could you please give me some advice on how many tins of what size I will need? Thanks, Margie
I am making the chocolate mud cake for my daughters wedding, she has requested a white chocolate ganache forthe icing. The cake has to travel two hours to the venue. Is it possible to freeze ganache and thaw? or is it best to make it just prior to use. This chocolate mud cake is definately my families favourite.
To the person making a three-tiered cake: We recommend that you use supports. This website has step-by-step instructions.
To make a 20cm diameter cake, we would multiply the ingredient quantities above by 0.75. Alternatively, you could make the recipe as above, and then use 3/4 of the batter to make the 20cm cake and the remaining batter to make some cupcakes.
First off i would like to say what a great website!!! I will be making this mud cake for my daughters first birthday and need to ask a few questions. I will be making a number one shape so i will be using two 30x11cm (7cm deep)tins. How much mixture should i use and approx how long should it cook for? Also i want to decorate the cake with a purple or pink icing i was thinking of using the white choc ganache and adding food colouring to the cream before adding to the melted chocolate, do you think this would work? any advice would be appreciated. Thanks Annie
This cake will serve about 16 people as a dessert.
Hi Margie,
For a round cake, you could use a 16cm diameter pan, a 24cm diameter pan, and a 32cm diameter pan. For a square cake, you could use a 14cm pan, a 22cm pan and a 30cm pan.
I note this question has already been asked but I can't see an answer. I have made the cake 3 weeks before my son's Christening and intend to freeze it but was wondering if I could also freeze the ganache?
how tall does the pan have to be 10x 3?? I live in the us and this recipe looks DELICIOUS! do you have a chart that says how long to backe different size pans for? and would the cake turn out completely different if it is baked in a normal cake pan instead of a springfoam pan? thank you! :)
Does this Choc Mud cake recipe translate to cup cakes successfully and if it does, how much mixture to use in each, how long to cook for and how many would it make?? Thanks
Regarding freezing ganache: You can freeze ganache for later use. When you are ready to use the ganache, bring it to room temperature, and then very gently warm it to obtain the desired consistency (spreadable or pourable).
You can ice a cake with ganache before freezing. However, when the cake is thawed, the ganache will probably not be as glossy as if it was freshly applied.
To the person who asked about chocolate panels: We will add your request to our to-do list.
We recommend that you multiply the recipe by 1.5 and then divide the batter between the two tins. Unfortunately, we can’t really help with the baking time, as we haven’t tested the recipe in the tin size you are using. We suggest that you keep an eye on the baking cakes, and when they look and feel cooked, test them with a knife/skewer as described in the recipe above. It should be fine to colour the ganache as you’ve described. If you would like to achieve a strong colour, you may need to use a colouring powder (see the above Dora the Explorer cake made by Sandy H).
I have been asked to make a round, three tier wedding cake plus a separate kitchen cake for 170 people.
The bride would like to keep the top for herself. She would like to serve the remaining wedding cake and kitchen cake to the guests as part of dessert (there will also be a separate dessert menu), so a small piece of cake for each guest will be sufficient.
Firstly, what size tins do you recommend for the three tier wedding cake and kitchen cake to serve 170 people and how many times do I need to make the recipe to fill each tin? I was thinking of making a 7 inch, 10 inch and two 13 inch cakes (one for the wedding cake and one for the kitchen cake)
Secondly, I would like to cover it in ganache and then in plastic icing - do you think this would be okay, especially around October?
Thirdly, I would like to layer the cake with ganache. Shall I cut it, once baked or is it better to bake layers which I can assemble later?
I'm making a 14 inch square mud cake. What quantity of cake mixture do I need and how long do I need to cook it for? I was planning on making two 14 inch square cakes (one choc mud and one white mud) for a wedding. Will there enough to serve 120 people for dessert? Thanks, Rebecca
What sort of chocolate did you use in this recipe? Is cooking or compound chocolate OK? I often buy el cheapo chocolate to use in cooking. Do the results differ with real "chocolate"? If so, how? Thanks, Becs
I'm looking at using your recipes for my wedding cake. I want to use the choc mud as the bottom layer in a 12 inch pan, and your white choc mud for the middle layer in a 10 inch pan.(Mum's making the top layer for me - fruit cake). How much will I have to increase the recipe by? and Will these cakes be about 10cm high?
We use a pan that is about 6.5cm (2.5 inches) tall. The baking paper that lines the pan is extended a few centimetres (about 1.5 inches) above the height of the pan to ensure that the cake doesn't overflow when it rises in the oven. The pan has a diameter of a little over 9 inches.
It would be fine to use a non-springform pan for this cake.
We don't have a chart that gives the baking times for different pan sizes (it's a great idea though).
We estimate that an 11 inch round cake would yield about 50 finger serves and a 13 inch round cake would yield about 90 finger serves. Therefore, you could reduce the size of the kitchen cake, and/or reduce your tier sizes, and still have enough cake to serve 170.
Underneath the above recipe, we have added a link to a table that lists the ingredient quantities required for various pan sizes.
Unfortunately, we don't have much experience with plastic icing. This discussion might be helpful.
If you have more than one of each cake pan size, and can bake a couple of cake layers at once, we would recommend dividing the batter and baking two layers for each tier.
When iced, the chocolate mud cake is about 5.5cm tall and the white chocolate mud cake is about 5cm tall. Please email and let us know whether you are using square or round pans, as this will affect the amount of batter you need.
For a 14 inch square pan, multiply the above recipe by three. Unfortunately, we can’t help with the baking time, as we haven’t tested the recipe in this pan size. Two 14 inch cakes should be enough for 120 dessert serves.
Thank you for the Mudcake recipe. I used it as a basis for a dairy free, gluten free birthday cake as 2 of my grandchildren have these allergies.
I used Orgran all-purpose flour, Coconut cream in place of the buttermilk in the cake and in place of the cream in the ganache, Nuttelex Original in place of the butter, and Sweet William original dairy and gluten free chocolate in both the cake and ganache.
Other than these changes I followed the recipe as written, same quantities, etc.
Everyone enjoyed the cake so much that I now have orders from all my grandchildren for the same birthday cake.
Tastes nice and sweet without being too rich. I used the recipe to make a 13x9x2 inch cake. Made more than I expected. When eaten a few hours after baking, tasted like a normal chocolate cake (falls apart). Much better when I put it in the fridge overnight. Turn out like the photo :). Thank you!
I used the original recipe with self-raising flour, and baked a large 14" diam cake (a practice for a wedding cake). After almost 2 hours in the oven, I tested the inside and it was all cooked. But after it cooled, I did notice that it sank in the middle. I was afraid that it was undercooked. I hope that the new improved recipe will solve this problem.
May I ask why reduce the SR flour? How should that prevent if from sinking in the middle?
We found that the original recipe cake rose and fell quite a bit during baking. We thought the cake would probably have a more even surface if the amount of raising agent was reduced so that the cake did not rise and fall as far. Our 23cm diameter test cake (new recipe) was almost flat across the top. However, we suspect that larger cakes will still need to be trimmed to achieve a level surface.
This Cake was amazing... every one loved it... though i did eat about half myself... i saw a picture where someone had used chocolate panels along the side, i wanted to know can they be purchased or are they made... if they are made do you make a large peice and attempt at cutting it (sounds hard to avoid cracking) or make them in individual peices (are there moulds for this?)
Thanks you and once again great cake i will never need to go to the cheesecake shop again!
We haven't tested this recipe with yoghurt, so we aren't sure how well it would work. For our suggested buttermilk substitute, please see the above comment dated 10/7/07.
To the person who asked about the ingredient quantities for a 7 inch round pan: Please see the Mud Cake Ingredient Quantities for Various Pan Sizes table (the link is below the recipe). You could use the quantities specified for a 16cm round pan (to make a slightly shorter cake) or the quantities for a 20cm round pan (to make a slightly taller cake).
I love the latest addition of the ingredients list on varying cake tins! So handy! Can I ask a big favour and request for the measurements for 14" cake (round). Really appreciated!
Do you mind sharing how you do the calc? I'm actually confused by it. It's ok if you can't ;-)
I tried your recipe using Orgran gluten free flours (plain and SRF). The first time I tried it I followed the recipe exactly and substituted normal flour with gluten free. Came out crumbly. I tried again and this time also substituted the water with milk. Worked really well.
The original recipe specifies a 23cm diameter round pan. Use the formula for the area of a circle or an online calculator to find the base area of the 23cm round pan (approximately 415 square centimetres).
Calculate the base area of your 35.56cm diameter round pan (approximately 993 square centimetres).
Divide the base area of your pan by the base area of the original pan
993/415 = approximately 2.4
Therefore, we would multiply the original ingredient quantities by 2.4 or 12/5. Does that make sense?
You may wish to round the 2.4 up to 2.5, so that the number of eggs required would be 10 (rather than 9.6).
If you'd like us to calculate the ingredient quantities for you, please send us an email.
I used the chocolate mud cake and the white chocolate mud cakes to make 3 layered cakes for my Wedding. Three chocolate cakes and three white chocolate cakes were made, each one was split in half and sandwiched chocolate - white - chocolate - white so that each slice of cake had a striped look. I joined them with some raspberry jam, heated slightly so it is easy to spread, and iced with loads of buttercream. It was devine, and the easiest wedding cake I have ever made!
The crusty top question: Dont use melted butter, use the beat butter and sugar till light and fuffy (but not too much or it goes dry), then add eggs beating well after each, then beat in cooled melted choc and oil. and add your flour and milf slowly, dont over mix, just mix to combine. Moist, soft cake results.
I have made this cake twice now in a 25cm square tin (6cm deep I think) and it took around 2 hours. I think 1hr 50-55 would be most accurate in a non fan forced but gas oven at my 160 (which is possibly a bit cooler than normal). Turns out great but a bit 'crispy' on top (I just cut that off). The top is still very edible, I just cut it off for presentation.
Anyway, I wanted to let you know that I have tried every chocolate mud cake recipe under the sun (I've baked about 10 different cakes...) and this one won as the best! I am making it for my wedding. So, thank you :)
Can I use baking chocolate instead for this cake? Also, i experienced the 'air bubble' in the middle, similar to one of the comments. and the middle part of the cake was fudgier than the rest of the cake. Can you tell me what possibly went wrong? Thanks =)
YUM! Flexible recipe, also. I was an impulse baker, used yoghurt instead of buttermilk, white sugar instead of caster. I didn't read carefully about the pan size before commencing, and had waaay too much batter for my 20cm springform. I made that cake(baked 1hr 30mins @ 160)and used the leftover batter for cupcakes. I made those in little silicone baking cups, they turned out perfect as well(25 minutes @ 160). I'm storing those in the freezer for sudden chocolate cravings. I also highly recommend the white choc mud cake recipe on this site, made that as my wedding cake. YUM again, thanks A&D! ^_^
This cake is fantastic. I have used this recipe untold times and my friends always ask me for the recipe. I have also made cupcakes with this recipe and my son absolutely loves them. One thing I tend to do is reduce the caster sugar to half the quantity, still turns out great.
I used these ingredients to make a Barbie cake for my 3yr old. It was the perfect quantity for a 19cup Large Dolly Varden tin and tasted really delicious!!! I also cut down on the caster sugar (2cups). Wil definately try the white choc one next.
I just tried this recipe today to surprise my boyfriend for his birthday (my very first attempt at baking a cake). I used a 20cm round pan, based on the ingredients listed in that pdf file and baked for 1 hour 30 minutes (non fan-forced). It was exquisite and DELICIOUS, my bf loved it! Two thumbs up! :D
I loved that this recipe is easy to follow for someone like me who hardly bake, and the ingredients portions are spot on. Thank you so much for this wonderful site.
P.S. Instead of using buttermilk, I substituted it with milk and 2 tsp of lemon juice. Thanks for the tip!
Before I will try this recipe I would like to know the capacity of the 1cup you used, is it 240ml or 250ml? Coz I tried your Banana Cake recipe using the 240ml and turned out fantastic. Thanks.
Hi Amanda and Debbie, I'm sure you get SO sick of answering quantity questions....BUTTTT... I have previously made this cake in a few different sizes, all of which are listed on your pdf document with the various sizes. However, this time I need a 13 x 11 inch cake (28cm x 33cm). My first question is do you think the recipe would be successful in such a large tin? I know that with some cakes you can get to a point where the recipe fails if it is too big. My second question is would you mind helping me out with the quantities? I'm HOPELESS at this sort of Maths!!! THANK YOU!!!
Me again!! So sorry, but decided to make it in a smaller tin - hopefully I haven't wasted your time! But I'd still be interested to know if you think it would be successful in a larger tin, as I'm sure I'll be doing it at some point seeing as cake decorating is my new hobby! Thanks girls! :-)
I made this beautiful mud cake over the weekend, complete with a minor stuff up (I accidentally added a whole cup of buttermilk alternative!) and it still worked out perfectly! As with all your recipes, this cake was a huge success at our house tonight!
Made this recipe as a trial for daughter's birthday, also made the white choc dream cake, both fantastic. I put the white cake on top. Also cut the tops of both cakes and turned them upside down to ice. Used the white ganache. When I make them next, I plan to use both ganache recipes (white and chocolate) to decorate. Thank you for the recipes which are really easy to make.
i tried this recipe and it was the most nicest dense mud cake i've ever tasted. i was wondering if you can make a white choc mud cake by replacing the milk/dark chocolate with white chocolate and ommiting cocoa and coffee. i have already tried the white choc mud cake on this site twice but i prefer the denser texture of this mud cake. thanks
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119 Comments:
My (almost 3) daughter tried a packet mix choc mud cake a few weeks ago and has gone on about it ever since! She's asked for mud cake for her birthday which is Friday (25/8). I'm going to try this recipe - will let you know how it goes...
I made this cake for my engagement party and it turned out fantastic!! I had a small square cake (1 batch of ingredients) on top of a larger one (2 batches of ingredients) & decorated it with white chocolate panels & dark chocolate curls. Everyone at the party was so amazed & just raved about it. I even got a request to do the same thing for a 21st!
I made this exquisite mud cake for my son's 11th birthday which he loved immensely. I just made it as instructed and it had a light and moist texture for a mud cake. A brilliant recipe - well pleased.
I made this last week, the cake was a huge hit and the ganache tasted divine but it was forming into a ball in the saucepan and the ingredients didn't melt smoothly. Apart from that it was fabulous
Hi
The first time I made the cake it was almost perfect except the were cracks on the top so I shaved off the top. Second time the cake cracked as well. Any tips on why the cake cracked and how to make sure it turns out moist?
Fyi, I melt the choc in the microwave and the texture is not as smooth as stove top method. Does that affect the texture and density of the cake.
Pls help. Thank you and have a good day.
Regards,
Jess
Hi Jessica,
This cake does have a crusty/crackled top. We aren't sure how to avoid this. Next time we bake this cake, we will try covering the top with a layer of baking paper to see whether that makes a difference.
If you would like the cake to be moister, you could try slightly reducing the oven temperature or baking time.
If you are unable to get a smooth result when melting the chocolate in the microwave, we would suggest using the stovetop method. Otherwise, the texture of the cake may be negatively affected.
Thank you for this fantastic recipe! I have always wanted to make a mud cake but thought it would be too hard - however this recipe was easy and it tasted amazing. I had a request to make it again for a farewell party! Love the website overall, so many new things to try...
i just wanted toknow what can i use other than buttermilk
You could try this substitute for the buttermilk: place 2 teaspoons of lemon juice in a half cup (125 ml capacity), then fill with milk. The mixture will probably develop a curdled appearance similar to that of buttermilk.
Hi,
I just wanted to know if I can bake this cake using a 20cm instead of 23 or 24. and how long should i leave the cake in for?
Thank you very much for helping.
Hi,
I also notice that the you bake the chocolate cake in the 20cm pan. What is the diffrence between the mud cake and the normal chocolate cake? I am planning to make a cake for my husband 30th b'day this weekend. Which one do you recommend me to bake? I also plan to use a white chocolate ganach,will that work?
thank you so much.
Jenny
Hi Jenny
This recipe makes too much batter for a 20cm diameter round tin. If you wanted to use that tin size, you would need to use more than one tin, or cut the recipe down. Unfortunately, we haven't tested the cooking time required for a 20cm tin so you would need to keep an eye on the cake and test it with a knife/skewer as described in the recipe above.
The chocolate cake is lighter and fluffier than the mud cake. If made to the above recipe, the mud cake is larger than the chocolate cake and would probably serve twice as many people. We would recommend that you choose whichever type of cake you and your husband prefer.
We would prefer milk or dark chocolate ganache on this cake and on the chocolate cake (we have only ever used white chocolate ganache on white chocolate mud cake).
Thank you so much for you reply.
I think I will bake the chocolate cake. Will tell you how it goes.
This recipe is divine - I baked it in a 20cm round tin for 1hr 15mins at 145degrees celsius fan-forced oven, and used the rest of the batter in a half sports ball pan, and it worked out perfect - very moist and chocolatey.
The top of the cake was pretty smooth and didn't crack at all.
I might try an all dark chocolate one next time!
Thank you!
i wanted to make this cake in 2 tiers for a party of 60. What would you recomend for the 2 tin sizes i use if i make the top tier 1 batch and the second layer 2 batches
For the bottom tier (2 batches), we would use a round tin with a diameter of about 32 or 33cm.
If you wish to use square tins, we would use a 21cm square for the top tier (1 batch) and a 29cm square for the bottom tier (2 batches).
When I made this delicious cake... the way I dealt with the cracked top (first of all i did what you said i turned it over so the hard bit was on the bottom) was once I put the icing on and left it in the fridge over night, I took it out cut them up in to squares then cut about 1cm of the bottom of the cake squares which left a fully soft yummy cake!
the mud cake tasted really nice and moist, the cake appeared flat and smooth but once i cut the cut I realised that just underneath the surface there was a big air bubble in the middle, I've made this cake three times and the same thing happened everytime. Can you tell me how to fix this if you know? thanks
Hi again!
I am ready to try my hand at decorating a Debbie Brown 'naughty' cake, and the recipe calls for 2 x 15cm square cakes and 1 x 12 cm round cake.
How much batter should I make for the 3 tins?
I might use your choc mud recipe for 1 layer of square cake, and the round one, and bake a white mud cake for the other square layer.
Do I fill my cake tin up to 3/4 of the height?
Thanks in advance!
Hi Jade
Do you know the depths of the tins? This will affect how much batter you will need.
Regarding the air bubble in the middle of this cake: we haven't had this problem so, unfortunately, we aren't sure how to fix it. If you make this cake again, could you email us a photo showing the air bubble?
Hi, how many days in advance do you recomed i make the mud cake? Its an engagment cake ane wanted to cover it in royal icing as well
how many days in advance could you make the cake and how would you store it?
I would like to use this receipe for cupcakes. Do you think it would be suitable?
Ideally, we would make this cake 1-2 days in advance. However, we have stored it (in an airtight container in the fridge) for up to a week.
We haven't used this recipe to make cupcakes, but it should be fine to do so. Just be aware that the recipe will probably make a large number of cupcakes (you might want to halve the recipe). Also, don't put too much batter in the cases as this mixture has a tendency to rise and overflow in the oven.
To the poster who asked about baking this cake in advance - I've baked this cake 4 days in advance and then popped it in the freezer because I had to assemble 3 layers ofr the cake I was decorating for a birthday. First I let the cake cool completely, then I clingwrapped it in 2 layers, and then 2 layers of foil to prevent freezer burn. Put it in your freezer on a firm surface. When defrosted to room temperature and cut, the cake looked very moist and tasted fantastic and very fresh.
Cheers!
Hi,it says to bake it at 160deg. in a non fan forced oven. What temp would i need yo bake it in a fan forced oven?
If you can't turn off the fan in your oven, we would suggest that you bake this cake at 150 degrees Celsius. The cake may require a slightly shorter baking time.
Hi
Will the cake come out of the tin if I don't use grease proof paper but grease it with butter and use a non stick cake tin?
Unless you have a pan that is more than 9cm high, you will need to line the pan with baking paper that extends past the rim. This is necessary because the mixture rises up past the rim of the pan during baking.
Thanks for this recipe! I'm going to try it for my daughter's 16th birthday!
I just made this cake for my daughter's 3rd Birthday and it was a real hit. I baked a double quantity of the recipe in a 30cm square cake tin. I then cut out the shape of Dora the Explorer's face and iced ti with the chocolate ganache icing for her hair. I made a white chocolate ganache for her face and coloured it with chocolate colouring powder and also flavoured it with orange oil. The eyes, nose and mouth were made form chocolate and then pushed into the icing.
Not only did it look fantastic but it tasted awesome, a very moist cake but not too rich. This will definitely be the recipe of choice for future special occasion cakes!
To see a picture of the cake just click on the link above(gabby's mum said...)
Hi, I have volunteered to make the cake for my brothers wedding and am in search of a good mud cake recipe. Is this recipe suitable for a tiered wedding cake? and if so would it do three tiers or just two? And finally what sized tiers and the corresponding recipe amounts do you suggest? Sorry for all the questions - I thought he would want a fruit cake and I can do these!!
I have made this cake twice in the last two days and have had a flop. The centre of the first one dropped but it wasn't cooked properly. I used a 25in tin and cooked it on 160 for 1hr 25 mins.Hence the feeling that my oven temperature is not reading true. Yesterday I tried again with the temp 170 for 1hr 55mins and the centre still dropped a bit and I think it could have been cooked a bit longer still. I am having another go late today and 180. Any suggestions?
Are you using a 25 inch diameter round cake pan? Or a 25 inch square cake pan?
To the person making their brother's wedding cake, could you please email us with the number of serves you require?
hey
i saw a recipe for a icing
you just use the norm recipie
but u cover the entire cake with chocolate frekels
it so yummy
and great for the kids and entertaining
I'm also looking for a chocolate mud cake recipe to have made for my wedding. It will need to be for about 70 people and will be covered in the white icing. Is this recipe appropriate? It will also be in a really hot climate (ie. a beach wedding) - will this be a problem?
Thanks!
My partner and i had a last minute decision for having a cake for our son's 1st birthday on the 03/12, We found this recipe and we we're so amazed how it turned out we didnt think we pulled it off but it made our son's birthday turn out great for a last minute cake... Thank you so much for letting everyone use your recipe....
Hi Carly,
This recipe could be multiplied and baked in a larger pan to serve 70. If you are using only white icing on the cake (not ganache) then it should be suitable for a wedding in a hot climate.
Please can you tell me if the cooking chocolate which you use is sweetened? I'm from Sri Lanka and the cooking chocolate I use over here is sweet generally. If so, how do I adjust the sugar used in the recipe? The pics look great. I want to try this after I get the sugar problem sorted out. Thanks.
Hi Fathima,
We use eating chocolate in this recipe, and it is sweetened. We use a dark chocolate that contains 51.5g sugars per 100g, and a milk chocolate that contains 55.5g of sugars per 100g.
hi im making a wedding cake that is going to be three teirs the bottom being a choc mud cake the middle a white choc and the top being a fruit cake, it is to feed 100people and i was just wondering if the bottom layer will take the weight of the top two, and how much mix shoul i make up for the bottom layer
Hi Nat,
What size cake pan will you be using for the chocolate mud cake layer?
Hi Ladies
Your website has been a godsend!! I have volunteered to bake my brothers wedding cake...and only found out then that they are having 160 people! The whole cake will be chocolate mud, and I am going to use your receipe. Are you able to tell me though, for that many people, I'm thinking three layers but am unsure of sizes....can you help???
Hi Ladies again...
I forgot to ask also in my previous question about chocolate mud tin sizes for my brothers wedding of 160. For the appropriate sizes of tins you suggest - how many quantities of your recipe would I need for each. Thanks again. Cherie
hi! i baked this cake and it was fantastic! However, i only used half of the sugar required and it still tasted great. thanks heaps for the recipe - i will definitely make it again!
I am making a 4 tiered wedding cake for my son using your mud cake recipe. The cake has a lovely taste and texture but the bottom tin is 28cm so I doubled the mix and baked it at 160 non fan forced and it sunk about 1cm in the middle. I did put a piece of baking paper on the top. The wedding is in 2 weeks, any suggestions? Also the other three tins are 23, 19, 13cm x 7 1/2cm depth any ideas of temps and times for these tins. Your help is much appreciated.
Hi....I'd like to make this for my daughter's birthday cake. It's for children so I was wondering if the coffee powder is necessary? I dont think the kids will like the flavour. Also would I put more of something else instead if I did not have it?
Thankyou very much..I just LOVE your recipes!!
Hi Cherie,
Will the cake be served as dessert (larger slices), or in addition to dessert (smaller slices)?
Hi Linda,
Did the cake seem a little undercooked in the centre? Cakes may sink if they are not fully cooked in the centre, so we would suggest increasing the baking time. If you are using round tins, then the 23cm diameter cake can be baked as instructed in the recipe above. We can't really advise as to the baking times/temperatures for other tin sizes because we haven’t tested them.
Hi,
The cake is beautiful. Rich yet light. I normally do not go for mud cakes, but I did like this recipe. Just a note though on the description. You have castor sugar in the recipe, but you did not mention at what stage to put it in. I nearlly missed it :) and put into the melted ingredients when already took them off th estove. Guess, the structure was not exactly the one it meant to be at the end as sugar did not fully dissolve. Anyways, can you clarify this in the recipe? Thanks a lot! Yana
Hi Yana,
We are glad you liked the cake! The caster sugar is added to the sifted flour mixture (see the fourth paragraph of the method).
Ha-ha-ha, I must have been blind! Thanks a lot girls! I guess I need to do it again to see what difference it will make ;)
Cheers,
Yana
I am about do do a "test run" of your choc. mud cake for my daughter's wedding. The cake will be used for desert and will therefore need to be suitable for approx. 90 people.The cake will be cut into rectangular pieces to be served and will be iced with ganache.Do you have any suggestions to how I can decorate the top of the cake to make it look like a simple wedding cake?
You could decorate the top of the cake with fresh flowers, sugar flowers, chocolate roses, or piped ganache.
The following websites might give you some ideas:
Maui Wedding Cakes
Clare's Cakes
To the person asking about the coffee powder:
Sorry we have taken so long to reply. The coffee flavour in this cake isn’t particularly strong, but you could just omit it from the recipe if you like (there's no need to replace it with another ingredient).
This cake is amazing! I made it for my friends B'day and i was suprised at how well the cake turned out. I used a 25cm square tin (1 and 1/2 batches) and baked for approx 2 hours at 150 degrees (fan forced) It sunk a little in the middle so my guess is it probablly needed another 10-15mins but otherwise it was perfect. I also wrapped the side of the tin with some folded newspaper (3 layers) and tied it with a piece of string. This stopped the cake burning and it was moist right from the very edge. I am very impressed with this recipe and can't wait to try all the different variations. Will definately be a regular visitor here.
hi ladies
i have been asked to make my brothers wedding cake, he wants a mud cake that is moist and rich, i have tried other recipes and i haven't been very successful. the cake si to be two tier and have either a dark chocolate ganahe or a white or chocolate icing. it is to about 120 people. can you recommand what sort of tins either square or round and how many times i should do the cake mix?
Can you use something else to replace the coffee granules?
To the person asking about the wedding cake to serve 120: Will the cake be served as dessert (larger slices), or in addition to dessert (smaller slices)?
To the person asking about the coffee granules: Please see our comment dated 7/2/08.
HI, wanting to make the 3 tiered mud cake for a wedding and have never done it before. If you put one on top of the other will it hold? Or do I need to use separators? Thanks
Hi,
I plan to make this cake as the top tier on a cupcake display so I only want to make a 20cm cake. How much batter should I put in the tin? Should it be filled 1/2 or 3/4? Thanks.
Could you please advise how many this recipe would serve as a cake and as a dessert? I'm looking for dessert for 20.
THanks
Kate
Hi,
I'm thinking of making a mudcake for a wedding. It would be served as dessert (large slices) for 100-120 people. Could you please give me some advice on how many tins of what size I will need? Thanks,
Margie
I am making the chocolate mud cake for my daughters wedding, she has requested a white chocolate ganache forthe icing. The cake has to travel two hours to the venue. Is it possible to freeze ganache and thaw? or is it best to make it just prior to use. This chocolate mud cake is definately my families favourite.
To the person making a three-tiered cake: We recommend that you use supports. This website has step-by-step instructions.
To make a 20cm diameter cake, we would multiply the ingredient quantities above by 0.75. Alternatively, you could make the recipe as above, and then use 3/4 of the batter to make the 20cm cake and the remaining batter to make some cupcakes.
Hi
Firstly I love your website. I am just wondering if you could teach me how to make chocolate panels. Thanks a lot
First off i would like to say what a great website!!! I will be making this mud cake for my daughters first birthday and need to ask a few questions. I will be making a number one shape so i will be using two 30x11cm (7cm deep)tins. How much mixture should i use and approx how long should it cook for? Also i want to decorate the cake with a purple or pink icing i was thinking of using the white choc ganache and adding food colouring to the cream before adding to the melted chocolate, do you think this would work?
any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks
Annie
Hi Kate,
This cake will serve about 16 people as a dessert.
Hi Margie,
For a round cake, you could use a 16cm diameter pan, a 24cm diameter pan, and a 32cm diameter pan. For a square cake, you could use a 14cm pan, a 22cm pan and a 30cm pan.
I note this question has already been asked but I can't see an answer. I have made the cake 3 weeks before my son's Christening and intend to freeze it but was wondering if I could also freeze the ganache?
how tall does the pan have to be 10x 3?? I live in the us and this recipe looks DELICIOUS! do you have a chart that says how long to backe different size pans for? and would the cake turn out completely different if it is baked in a normal cake pan instead of a springfoam pan?
thank you! :)
Does this Choc Mud cake recipe translate to cup cakes successfully and if it does, how much mixture to use in each, how long to cook for and how many would it make?? Thanks
Regarding freezing ganache: You can freeze ganache for later use. When you are ready to use the ganache, bring it to room temperature, and then very gently warm it to obtain the desired consistency (spreadable or pourable).
You can ice a cake with ganache before freezing. However, when the cake is thawed, the ganache will probably not be as glossy as if it was freshly applied.
To the person who asked about chocolate panels: We will add your request to our to-do list.
Hi Annie,
We recommend that you multiply the recipe by 1.5 and then divide the batter between the two tins. Unfortunately, we can’t really help with the baking time, as we haven’t tested the recipe in the tin size you are using. We suggest that you keep an eye on the baking cakes, and when they look and feel cooked, test them with a knife/skewer as described in the recipe above. It should be fine to colour the ganache as you’ve described. If you would like to achieve a strong colour, you may need to use a colouring powder (see the above Dora the Explorer cake made by Sandy H).
Hello ladies,
I have been asked to make a round, three tier wedding cake plus a separate kitchen cake for 170 people.
The bride would like to keep the top
for herself. She would like to serve the remaining wedding cake and kitchen cake to the guests as part of dessert (there will also be a separate dessert menu), so a small piece of cake for each guest will be sufficient.
Firstly, what size tins do you recommend for the three tier wedding cake and kitchen cake to serve 170 people and how many times do I need to make the recipe to fill each tin? I was thinking of making a 7 inch, 10 inch and two 13 inch cakes (one for the wedding cake and one for the kitchen cake)
Secondly, I would like to cover it in ganache and then in plastic icing - do you think this would be okay, especially around October?
Thirdly, I would like to layer the cake with ganache. Shall I cut it, once baked or is it better to bake layers which I can assemble later?
Sorry for asking so many questions!
I look forward to hearing from you.
Kind regards,
Nikki
I'm making a 14 inch square mud cake. What quantity of cake mixture do I need and how long do I need to cook it for? I was planning on making two 14 inch square cakes (one choc mud and one white mud) for a wedding. Will there enough to serve 120 people for dessert?
Thanks,
Rebecca
What sort of chocolate did you use in this recipe? Is cooking or compound chocolate OK? I often buy el cheapo chocolate to use in cooking. Do the results differ with real "chocolate"? If so, how?
Thanks,
Becs
Hi,
I'm looking at using your recipes for my wedding cake. I want to use the choc mud as the bottom layer in a 12 inch pan, and your white choc mud for the middle layer in a 10 inch pan.(Mum's making the top layer for me - fruit cake). How much will I have to increase the recipe by? and Will these cakes be about 10cm high?
Thanks,
Tanika
We use a pan that is about 6.5cm (2.5 inches) tall. The baking paper that lines the pan is extended a few centimetres (about 1.5 inches) above the height of the pan to ensure that the cake doesn't overflow when it rises in the oven. The pan has a diameter of a little over 9 inches.
It would be fine to use a non-springform pan for this cake.
We don't have a chart that gives the baking times for different pan sizes (it's a great idea though).
I made this cake last week and shared it around... everyone loved it including my hard to impress mother-in-law!!!
I'll be holding onto this recipe.
Thanks for sharing
KM
Hi Nikki,
We estimate that an 11 inch round cake would yield about 50 finger serves and a 13 inch round cake would yield about 90 finger serves. Therefore, you could reduce the size of the kitchen cake, and/or reduce your tier sizes, and still have enough cake to serve 170.
Underneath the above recipe, we have added a link to a table that lists the ingredient quantities required for various pan sizes.
Unfortunately, we don't have much experience with plastic icing. This discussion might be helpful.
If you have more than one of each cake pan size, and can bake a couple of cake layers at once, we would recommend dividing the batter and baking two layers for each tier.
Hi Cindy,
We used this recipe to make cupcakes and found that they sank slightly. We recommend this chocolate mud cupcake recipe.
Hi Tanika,
When iced, the chocolate mud cake is about 5.5cm tall and the white chocolate mud cake is about 5cm tall. Please email and let us know whether you are using square or round pans, as this will affect the amount of batter you need.
Hi Rebecca,
For a 14 inch square pan, multiply the above recipe by three. Unfortunately, we can’t help with the baking time, as we haven’t tested the recipe in this pan size. Two 14 inch cakes should be enough for 120 dessert serves.
Hi Becs,
We use Cadbury chocolate in this recipe. We think the cake will have a better flavour if you use chocolate with good flavour.
Thank you for the Mudcake recipe. I used it as a basis for a dairy free, gluten free birthday cake as 2 of my grandchildren have these allergies.
I used Orgran all-purpose flour, Coconut cream in place of the buttermilk in the cake and in place of the cream in the ganache, Nuttelex Original in place of the butter, and Sweet William original dairy and gluten free chocolate in both the cake and ganache.
Other than these changes I followed the recipe as written, same quantities, etc.
Everyone enjoyed the cake so much that I now have orders from all my grandchildren for the same birthday cake.
Tastes nice and sweet without being too rich. I used the recipe to make a 13x9x2 inch cake. Made more than I expected. When eaten a few hours after baking, tasted like a normal chocolate cake (falls apart). Much better when I put it in the fridge overnight. Turn out like the photo :). Thank you!
Hello,
Love, love the recipe!
I used the original recipe with self-raising flour, and baked a large 14" diam cake (a practice for a wedding cake). After almost 2 hours in the oven, I tested the inside and it was all cooked. But after it cooled, I did notice that it sank in the middle. I was afraid that it was undercooked. I hope that the new improved recipe will solve this problem.
May I ask why reduce the SR flour? How should that prevent if from sinking in the middle?
Will the cake still rise as much as before?
Thanks heaps!
Hi Jen
We found that the original recipe cake rose and fell quite a bit during baking. We thought the cake would probably have a more even surface if the amount of raising agent was reduced so that the cake did not rise and fall as far. Our 23cm diameter test cake (new recipe) was almost flat across the top. However, we suspect that larger cakes will still need to be trimmed to achieve a level surface.
hi
i have a fan forced oven so i wanted to know what temp would i have the oven on and how long would i bake the cake for???
Hi Amanda
Please see our above comment dated 30/9/07.
Hi, i just wanted to know how much ingredients to use for a 7" round cake tin.
Thanks
This Cake was amazing... every one loved it... though i did eat about half myself... i saw a picture where someone had used chocolate panels along the side, i wanted to know can they be purchased or are they made... if they are made do you make a large peice and attempt at cutting it (sounds hard to avoid cracking) or make them in individual peices (are there moulds for this?)
Thanks you and once again great cake i will never need to go to the cheesecake shop again!
hello!
i'm finding that is very hard for me to get buttermilk here... can i subtitute it with yogurt?
thanks in advance!
We haven't tested this recipe with yoghurt, so we aren't sure how well it would work. For our suggested buttermilk substitute, please see the above comment dated 10/7/07.
To the person who asked about the ingredient quantities for a 7 inch round pan: Please see the Mud Cake Ingredient Quantities for Various Pan Sizes table (the link is below the recipe). You could use the quantities specified for a 16cm round pan (to make a slightly shorter cake) or the quantities for a 20cm round pan (to make a slightly taller cake).
Hello Hello,
I love the latest addition of the ingredients list on varying cake tins! So handy! Can I ask a big favour and request for the measurements for 14" cake (round). Really appreciated!
Do you mind sharing how you do the calc? I'm actually confused by it. It's ok if you can't ;-)
Jen
Hello!
When baking round cakes of different sizes, can you bake them all together in the oven at the same time? I'm doing a 16cm & 23 cm rounds.
What about for a 3-tier cake (8", 10" 14"), can I combine two of diff tins at the same time too?
Like to hear from the expert ;-)
Thanks<
Jenny
I tried your recipe using Orgran gluten free flours (plain and SRF). The first time I tried it I followed the recipe exactly and substituted normal flour with gluten free. Came out crumbly. I tried again and this time also substituted the water with milk. Worked really well.
Hi Aaron
Chocolate panels can be purchased, made using chocolate moulds, or cut from a strip of chocolate.
Hi Jenny
The original recipe specifies a 23cm diameter round pan. Use the formula for the area of a circle or an online calculator to find the base area of the 23cm round pan (approximately 415 square centimetres).
Calculate the base area of your 35.56cm diameter round pan (approximately 993 square centimetres).
Divide the base area of your pan by the base area of the original pan
993/415 = approximately 2.4
Therefore, we would multiply the original ingredient quantities by 2.4 or 12/5. Does that make sense?
You may wish to round the 2.4 up to 2.5, so that the number of eggs required would be 10 (rather than 9.6).
If you'd like us to calculate the ingredient quantities for you, please send us an email.
I used the chocolate mud cake and the white chocolate mud cakes to make 3 layered cakes for my Wedding. Three chocolate cakes and three white chocolate cakes were made, each one was split in half and sandwiched chocolate - white - chocolate - white so that each slice of cake had a striped look. I joined them with some raspberry jam, heated slightly so it is easy to spread, and iced with loads of buttercream. It was devine, and the easiest wedding cake I have ever made!
I've made this twice now in two weeks, one for my sister's 16th and one for my friend Corey's 20th.
Fantastic recipe ladies. :D
The crusty top question: Dont use melted butter, use the beat butter and sugar till light and fuffy (but not too much or it goes dry), then add eggs beating well after each, then beat in cooled melted choc and oil. and add your flour and milf slowly, dont over mix, just mix to combine. Moist, soft cake results.
i can only find 98% fat free buttermilk locally can i use that instead?
The buttermilk that we use is 98 percent fat free.
I have made this cake twice now in a 25cm square tin (6cm deep I think) and it took around 2 hours. I think 1hr 50-55 would be most accurate in a non fan forced but gas oven at my 160 (which is possibly a bit cooler than normal). Turns out great but a bit 'crispy' on top (I just cut that off). The top is still very edible, I just cut it off for presentation.
Anyway, I wanted to let you know that I have tried every chocolate mud cake recipe under the sun (I've baked about 10 different cakes...) and this one won as the best! I am making it for my wedding. So, thank you :)
Can I use baking chocolate instead for this cake? Also, i experienced the 'air bubble' in the middle, similar to one of the comments. and the middle part of the cake was fudgier than the rest of the cake. Can you tell me what possibly went wrong? Thanks =)
YUM! Flexible recipe, also. I was an impulse baker, used yoghurt instead of buttermilk, white sugar instead of caster. I didn't read carefully about the pan size before commencing, and had waaay too much batter for my 20cm springform. I made that cake(baked 1hr 30mins @ 160)and used the leftover batter for cupcakes. I made those in little silicone baking cups, they turned out perfect as well(25 minutes @ 160). I'm storing those in the freezer for sudden chocolate cravings. I also highly recommend the white choc mud cake recipe on this site, made that as my wedding cake. YUM again, thanks A&D! ^_^
This cake is fantastic. I have used this recipe untold times and my friends always ask me for the recipe. I have also made cupcakes with this recipe and my son absolutely loves them. One thing I tend to do is reduce the caster sugar to half the quantity, still turns out great.
I used these ingredients to make a Barbie cake for my 3yr old. It was the perfect quantity for a 19cup Large Dolly Varden tin and tasted really delicious!!! I also cut down on the caster sugar (2cups). Wil definately try the white choc one next.
I just tried this recipe today to surprise my boyfriend for his birthday (my very first attempt at baking a cake). I used a 20cm round pan, based on the ingredients listed in that pdf file and baked for 1 hour 30 minutes (non fan-forced). It was exquisite and DELICIOUS, my bf loved it! Two thumbs up! :D
I loved that this recipe is easy to follow for someone like me who hardly bake, and the ingredients portions are spot on. Thank you so much for this wonderful site.
P.S. Instead of using buttermilk, I substituted it with milk and 2 tsp of lemon juice. Thanks for the tip!
Before I will try this recipe I would like to know the capacity of the 1cup you used, is it 240ml or 250ml? Coz I tried your Banana Cake recipe using the 240ml and turned out fantastic. Thanks.
Hi Odytte
We use a 250ml capacity measuring cup.
Hi Amanda and Debbie,
I'm sure you get SO sick of answering quantity questions....BUTTTT...
I have previously made this cake in a few different sizes, all of which are listed on your pdf document with the various sizes. However, this time I need a 13 x 11 inch cake (28cm x 33cm).
My first question is do you think the recipe would be successful in such a large tin? I know that with some cakes you can get to a point where the recipe fails if it is too big.
My second question is would you mind helping me out with the quantities? I'm HOPELESS at this sort of Maths!!!
THANK YOU!!!
Me again!! So sorry, but decided to make it in a smaller tin - hopefully I haven't wasted your time! But I'd still be interested to know if you think it would be successful in a larger tin, as I'm sure I'll be doing it at some point seeing as cake decorating is my new hobby! Thanks girls! :-)
I made this beautiful mud cake over the weekend, complete with a minor stuff up (I accidentally added a whole cup of buttermilk alternative!) and it still worked out perfectly! As with all your recipes, this cake was a huge success at our house tonight!
Made this recipe as a trial for daughter's birthday, also made the white choc dream cake, both fantastic. I put the white cake on top. Also cut the tops of both cakes and turned them upside down to ice. Used the white ganache. When I make them next, I plan to use both ganache recipes (white and chocolate) to decorate. Thank you for the recipes which are really easy to make.
i tried this recipe and it was the most nicest dense mud cake i've ever tasted. i was wondering if you can make a white choc mud cake by replacing the milk/dark chocolate with white chocolate and ommiting cocoa and coffee. i have already tried the white choc mud cake on this site twice but i prefer the denser texture of this mud cake. thanks
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