Chocolate Mud Cake

This has been my go-to chocolate cake recipe for years now. I think it came from the Lakeland website but it's been so long that I can't remember! The original recipe calls for buttermilk which I have never used in the recipe. Instead I found a buttermilk substitute online which uses milk with some lemon juice and that has worked perfectly.

Baking times listed are what works for me in my oven, all ovens are different so you will have to experiment!

Single recipe = Two thin 6" cakes or two thicker 4/5" cakes, bake for 35-40 mins

Double recipe = Two thicker 6" cakes or two thin 8" cakes, bake for 45-50 mins

Triple recipe = Two thicker 8" cakes, bake for 60 mins

Cake Ingredients

• 150g unsalted butter softened

• 100g light muscovado sugar

• 75g caster sugar

• 2 medium eggs beaten

• 1tsp vanilla extract

• 150g plain flour

• 1tsp baking powder

• 1/4tsp bicarbonate of soda

• 30g cocoa

• Pinch of salt

• 125ml buttermilk (susbstitute = 125ml milk + 5ml lemon juice, leave for 5 mins before using, prepare this first)

Buttercream Ingredients (enough for 6" cake)

• 300g softened butter (beat for 5 mins until glossy before adding sugar)

• 300g sifted icing sugar (you can add up to double this for sweeter/stiffer icing)

• 30g cocoa powder

• 4 tsp milk (optional - adjust for consistency)

For 8" cake use 400g butter and 400g icing sugar instead

Chocolate Drip Ingredients (optional!)

• 50g high quality chocolate (milk/dark)

• 30g unsalted butter

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees or 160 degrees fan

2. Cream butter and sugar until pale

3. Gradually add beaten eggs, mixing between additions, and add in the vanilla extract

4. Sift flour, baking power, bicarb, cocoa and salt into mixture and fold until just combined

5. Add buttermilk/substitute and mix until smooth

6. Line two 6" baking tins with greaseproof paper and divide the mixture between the pans

7. Bake for 35 mins and check a skewer/cocktail stick comes out clean, if it comes out wet then bake for longer (checking frequently)

8. While the cakes are baking, make the buttercream so it's ready for decorating

9. Allow to cool slightly in the pan (usually 5-10 mins) before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely

10. Level the cakes to have a flat top using a knife or a cake leveller

11. Sandwich the cakes together with buttercream, cover sides and add any decorations (I have my full decorating process on my instagram highlights)

12. Enjoy!

Drip Technique I've added a video here too as I find seeing things done easier to follow! This was the second time I tried hand dripping (rather than pouring all the chocolate into the middle then trying to guide it off the edge) and found it easier to maintain control over drip length.

1. Smooth out your buttercream and leave keep the cake in the fridge as it needs to be cold to stop the drips going all the way down!

2. Melt the chocolate and butter together

3. Using a kitchen thermometer allow it to cool to 33 degrees C

4. Take the cake out of the fridge and use a spoon to place the chocolate close to the edge and push it over with the back of the spoon. This allows you to control the length of the drips, push more chocolate off for longer drips and less for shorter ones. The cake will look best with a mix of lengths! The alternative methods are to pour all the chocolate into the centre for more natural drips or using a piping bag for extra control.

5. As the cake is cold the drips should harden quickly

6. If piping on top, I would put the cake back in the fridge for 10-15 mins while I prepare piping bags and then finish the design!

You won't need to keep the cake in the fridge usually but I would recommend it if its a few days before the event or very hot weather! Consume within 3 days if left at room temperature or within 1 week if refrigerated.