Rich Chocolate Mud Cake - QBC

This week, our operations manager, Sue, left the business after 18 years - quite an achievement!  She will be sorely missed.  We had a little soiree for her going away, and I was left in stitches by her dictionary of acronyms, which are very well suited to modern corporate life.  I won't share them here because some of them contain a blue word, but I hope to remember a few of them for my own future use.

Last fortnight's Queen Baking Club recipe, a Rich Chocolate Mud Cake, happened to coincide with Sue's departure, so I decided to make it for Sue as a leaving gift.

Here is the unadorned cake before I set to work dressing it up:

The recipe included a recipe for chocolate ganache, which I spread just on top of the levelled cake as directed.  I had made some fondant flowers and letters the night before, which I assembled on  top of the cake and kissed with some disco glitter:  

I think the cake looked pretty good, especially as I had made it over a couple of nights after work.  I think Sue was happy with it, and it tasted pretty good too (I did manage to grab a piece before it all disappeared, even though I had a meeting when they first cut the cake).  

To make the dark chocolate version of this mud cake (the Queen website gives directions for milk and white chocolate versions too), you will need:

1 tablespoon instant coffee
1 cup cold water
250 g butter, cubed
200g chopped dark chocolate
2 cups sugar
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk
3 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
1 cup self raising flour
1 cup plain flour
1/2 cup sifted cocoa
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

For the ganache

150g chopped dark chocolate
150ml thickened cream


Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius.  Grease and line a 20cm round, deep cake tin.

Put the coffee and water into a medium saucepan over low heat, and stir to combine.  Add the butter, chocolate and sugar, and stir until just smooth.  Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

Combine the eggs, oil, milk and vanilla bean paste in a jug.  Add to the chocolate mixture and stir until just combined.

In a large bowl, combine the flours, cocoa and bicarbonate of soda.  Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour in the chocolate mixture, stirring to combine.  Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and bake for 1 and half hours or until cooked through.  Remove the cake from the oven and leave it to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.

For the ganache, put the chocolate into a small heatproof bowl.  Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until it just simmers, then pour over the chocolate.  Allow it to sit for 3-4 minutes then mix until smooth.

Allow the ganache to thicken to a spreadable consistency before applying to the top of the cake.

Decorate as desired or serve as is!

On the radio:
Is This Love?  by Alison Moyet