My firstborn just turned ten! Farewell Miss 9, hello Miss 10! My lovely gal requested a chocolate mud cake for her birthday and her wish was my command.
This was the first time I had made a dark chocolate mud cake from scratch and I was thrilled with the result. It was rich without being cloying, dense without being heavy and perfectly moist.
I topped the mud cake with my favourite dark chocolate ganache and decorated it with chocolate-covered popcorn. It looked elegant and perfect for any occasion but in the end I added a galaxy of star-shaped sprinkles and 100s and 1000s.
This mud cake would be a welcome addition any time of year and at any celebration: birthday/ christening / graduation/engagement…
Chocolate mud cake is a perfect Christmas dessert. It is elegant, delicious, special and can be decorated with red and green sprinkles to really create a festive vibe. It also keeps well, un-iced, in a sealed container in a cool dark place for a few days leading up to your event. Serve in small wedges, with cream, icecream, or as is. May be your special event be amazing.
GATHER:
250g unsalted butter, chopped
200g dark chocolate, chopped
3 tablespoons orange-flavoured liqueur – optional
1⅓ cups milk
¾ caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1½ cups plain flour, sifted
¼ cups self-raising flour, sifted
¼ cup cocoa, sifted, plus extra for dusting
chocolate ganache icing:
150g dark chocolate, chopped
½ cup pouring cream
decorations:
chocolate covered popcorn
sprinkles of choice
LET’S GET TO IT:
Preheat oven to 150°C and grease and line a deep, 22cm round cake pan with non-stick baking paper.
In a large saucepan place butter, chocolate, milk, sugar and vanilla and stir over a low heat until melted and glossy. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Stir in three tablespoons orange-flavoured liqueur.
Whisk in the eggs, then sift in the flours and cocoa and stir with a metal spoon until smooth – do not over-beat.
Pour into cake tin and cook for 1 hour 10 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Allow to cool completely in the tin before removing to wire rack.
Meanwhile make ganache: melt chocolate and cream in a small saucepan over a low heat, stirring, until melted and glossy. Set aside to cool completely.
When cake is cold dress with ganache, popcorn and sprinkles.
the hungry mum 
Looks delicious!!
thanks! It was amazing.
Yum!!!
Thank you – it was super delish 🙂
That looks amazing!
OMGosh – it was good. I could eat a slice of this right now.
Looks absolutely delicious!😊
It was 100 pc amazing 🙂
That looks superb. It makes me drool even though I’m still full from Thanksgiving dinner.
I love how dense looking this cake is, omg must of been so delicious
I tell you what Stephanie – this is now the go to cake for family celebrations! #amazing
Happy birthday to your daughter. The cake looks very festive and I bet she loved it. Great idea to decorate it with chocolate covered popcorn xx
Thanks 🙂 We are a popcorn loving family – our mini schnauzer is named Popcorn – so it was the perfect touch x
Happy birthday to your first born and may they have many, many more! 😀 What a cute way of decorating it 🙂
Thank you! She loved love this cake – as well as the popcorn decorations 🙂
Look and sounds wonderful! Happy Birthday to your Miss 10! 🙂
Thank you! Double digits is v exciting 🙂
Yes, indeed! 🙂
Delicious cake…
Love it – chocolate covered popcorn!
I love Popcorn so much I named our doggy after it! I love adding it to anything and everything.
Ha!Ha! cute name for a dog. Check out my recipe “Cupcakes with Popcorn and Chive Blossoms.”
Now that’s a birthday cake! Your daughter made a great choice and I’m sure there were more than a few oohs and aahs as it was brought to the table.
Thank you 🙂 It was such a winner of a cake and I will 100 pc be making this for future family bdays.
Chocolate cake…. drool. I have been craving chocolate cake for weeks. This almost tipped me over the edge, I picked up the phone to call down to the kitchen for a sweet treat, but didnt follow through. Holy yum it looks fabulous, Miss 10 picked a goodun! 🙂 Hope she had a lovely birthday too. xo