Another (chocolate) brick in the wall

Years ago when I owned a cafe I would make a mud cake every other day, but it had been a while so I went online and found a very easy recipe, which is always the key.  I have a habit of not always wearing my glasses when writing things down, and didn't realise until I made another one that I had left out one of the ingredients, self raising flour.  Buy hey it was a great cake, as dense as a brick and it was a hit at a wedding I catered.  Using both flours does give it a lighter texture, but the consensus, the denser the better! 


Place 250grams butter, 200 grams good quality dark chocolate, 1 1/4 cups water, 1tsp good vanilla extract, 1 tsp instant coffee and 2 cups of caster sugar in a saucepan and heat gently until all ingredients melted.  Allow to cool for 10 minutes (don't be impatient).  Transfer melted mixture into a large mixing bowl and add 1 1/2 cups sifted plain flour, and 1/4 cup baking cocoa, stir gently with a metal spoon.  Finally add 3 gently beaten eggs to the mixture and fold in.   Pour into a well greased and lined cake tin, the mixture will be runny, so don't be concerned,  bake in a slow oven (160) for about 1 hour (check after 45mins as all ovens vary). The cake is cooked if the top starts to form a thin crispy top, test by inserting a skewer.  Don't be tempted to remove from tin until completely cool.

  Raspberry coulis is a great addition to this dessert, and it's easy mix 250 grams of frozen raspberries to 1/2 cup caster sugar, you could make it sweeter, but you have to allow for a spoon of vanilla ice cream to accompany, so we have to cut back where we can :) Heat gently till berries break down, cool then put through sieve as this gives it a nice consistency. 


All that's left to do now, is eat it!

Give it a whirl, and if you do it would great to hear your feedback.  Happy baking!









Tips on cooking with chocolate.
When melting chocolate use a double saucepan, with water gently simmering, never allow the water to touch the bottom of the bowl containing the chocolate as it will dry and harden.  This recipe is great as it mixes the chocolate with butter and water reducing the risk of the chocolate going pear shaped.