A good chocolate cake recipe is absolutely invaluable – it is the easiest flavour to turn to when making a cake to be enjoyed by a number of people with different tastes. You could say that chocolate is something that brings most people together.
My standard chocolate cake recipe is fantastic – easy to make, easy to store, and tastes better with age…but there’s just one problem. It’s such a tender and delicate cake that decorating it in any way other than a chocolate ganache glaze means that it falls apart. It certainly can’t be split and filled nor covered with a fondant.
As a friend had asked for a decorated chocolate cake for her birthday, this meant that the hunt was on. The hunt for a chocolate cake which was just as intense and delightful as my standard turn-to recipe, but that was a bit sturdier so it could handle a little knife work.
You know, there are A LOT of chocolate cake recipes out there. Not even looking at the internet, at last count I had a combined total of over 60 chocolate cake recipes from my cookbooks. Now, I don’t have quite enough cookbooks to fill a book store (actually only half a bookshelf full!), but this does give you an idea of the diversity when it comes to chocolate cakes.
Which to choose, which to choose?
I ended up making a short list of recipes on the basis of authors, reputations and ingredients. I knew I wanted something that tasted similar to my usual chocolate cake so steered clear of any recipes calling for something a bit different such as grated potato or zucchini. I’m not saying that these would be bad recipes, but I wanted to err on the side of caution for this search.
After I tried about 4 different recipes, I struck gold with this one. It has a wonderfully delicate crumb and is nice and moist, yet it’s sturdy and dense enough to be split into thin layers (I generally tend to go with 1cm thin layers, though this does need the cake to be refrigerated), filled with whatever you like and iced/decorated however your fancy takes you.
It does require more time and effort than my usual recipe of choice, but considering the flavour and versatility of this recipe, I’m calling this the perfect chocolate cake recipe.
Serve it as is or get fancy and fill it with white chocolate mousse and strawberries, it’s a fantastic addition to your baking repertoire!
Perfect Chocolate Mud Cake
(from The home guide to cake decorating by Jane Price)
Ingredients
220 g unsalted butter
220 g good quality dark chocolate
6 tsp instant coffee granules
160 mL water
125g self-raising flour
125g plain flour
50g cocoa powder
1/2 tsp bicarb soda
480 g caster sugar
4 large eggs
7 tsp vegetable oil
110 mL buttermilk
1 x 22cm round cake tin / 20cm square cake tin
1. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C, then put the butter, chocolate, coffee and water in a pan and stir over low heat till melted. Remove from heat.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flours, cocoa, caster sugar and bicarb soda and make a well in the middle.
2. Whisk together the eggs, oil and buttermilk in a separate bowl till combined.
3. Pour the cooled chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and carefully whisk to combine.
4. Grease and line your cake tin with non-stick baking paper, making sure the collar for the sides extends 2cm above the cake tin. Slowly pour the chocolate mixture into the well in the flour mixture.
5. Mix well to combine, then carefully pour into the lined cake tin. Bake for 1 hour 45 minutes, or till a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave the cake in the tin till completely cooled.
This makes quite a tall cake perfect for being split into layers for decorating, but you can also bake this as a loaf or even cupcakes. Personally, I like to make mini cakes which make it easy to cover in a dark chocolate ganache, offset with a drizzle of white chocolate for colour and contrast 
[tags]chocolate, cake, dessert[/tags]
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Man, there has been way too much chocolate cake floating around my brain lately – I made a chocolate chiffon cake with white frosting for the last day of camp, and I just saw an “everyday” chocolate cake on Smitten Kitchen, and now this? It sounds absolutely amazing.
Wei Wei
Perefct and gorgeous! What’s not to love!! YUM YUM!
Wow….absolutely beautiful! I wish I could devour this cake whole!
@Wei Wei – I hope this chocolate chiffon cake recipe is on your blog!! This sounds like something I need to try!
@deeba – Thanks babe!
@foodies at home – Hehehe, cheers
This pleases me in so many ways, EXCEPT IT’S NOT IN MY MOUTH. YUM.
I’m bookmarking this recipe. I’ve used to have three standard chocolate cake recipes depending on the density I wanted.
1. Your standard recipe one for a rich tasting cake.
2. A buttermilk chocolate cake which is really light and flufffy.
3. The Nigella chocolate marsala cake which I love the flavour of and is ultra light due to using eggs.
But I definitely agree that a sturdier cake is needed when trying to decorate it. The others I always just pour a ganache over.
Good research work Ellie.
Oh the pictures are making me want this now and I haven’t even had breakfast yet! Gorgeous!
Perfect chocolate cake! I love it. Love the white chocolate drizzle on it. But I wonder which step to add the sugar.
I’m ready to nom the computer to get at this delish looking treat! Is there a matching ganache recipe so I can complete the awesome food_porn photo effect at home?
I’m going to have to go raid my kitchen for some chocolate now…those photos just did me in.
Sounds and looks amazing!
Everyone loves a good chocolate cake, and this one looks fantastic!
That looks awesome! Now I just need an excuse to make this cake, is Friday a good enough reason?
hi!
i’m thinking of making this cake for my boyfriend’s birthday soon! do you think you could post the recipe you used for the chocolate ganache as well as the white-chocolate? thank you so much!!!
Hi, I tried making this cake today n find it way too sweet personally. It’s rich n chocolatey tho.
Will definitely try it again n reduce the sugar next time
Thks for sharing the recipe
–jojo
@Nimi – LOL! Aww, thanks for the lovely comment!
@Kristin – Hehehehe!
@Thanh – My pleasure! And I’m glad that my standard choc mud cake is yours too
@Elizabeth – Thanks!
@MaryMoh – Whoops! Sorry about that, will correct it now
@Seven – My ganaches are always about 2 part chocolate to 3 parts cream, I find it works well enough for me
White chocolate ganache will work better if it’s equal parts chocolate and cream!
@arly – Awww, thank you for the sweet comment
@InTolerantChef – Thanks
@Brilynn – Friday is an excellent reason
@Shaan – Try 2 parts chocolate to 3 parts cream for the dark chocolate, and 1:1 for the white chocolate and cream
@Jojo – It is sweet, but be careful about reducing the sugar content as this may affect the texture of the cake as well
is there anywhere you can change it to american measurements? (in cups, tablespoons, teaspoons)
i have trouble measuring the ingredients accurately..
but i really wanna make this cake and this recipe is perfect. is baking soda = bicarb soda?
and can i subsitute caster sugar with white sugar?
@Karen – The reason that I prefer to use grams is that they’re easily converted into ounces and pounds (which I believe are ‘American’). Australia uses cups, tablespoons and teaspoons too (as in the recipe above) but there is a weight difference between an American cup measurement and an Australian one. You should be able to convert the measurements in mL and grams using any online converter, sorry I can’t be of more help.
Wow!!! Best mud cake EVER!!! Thank you for the recipe…it’s a keeper for sure…need look no further! Made it for a family party and it was gone in 10 mins…absolutely stunning!!!!!
Hey Ellie
thank you for your awesome blog and recipe!! i made the cake today and it was just divine and it was my first time making this kind of cake so thank you thank you and it’s definitely going into my recipe book
x
@Kate – I’m so glad that you and your family enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for letting me know!
@amy – It’s my pleasure! Thank you for dropping me a line to let me know that you enjoyed it!
OMWORD! thank you! i think my search has ended! I’m going to try this today, and I will let you know how it turns out! =)
Please do! I’d love to hear how you went with the recipe
Wool finally a decent cake for decorating!!!!
Made this mud cake today and shared it with some friendswill b keeping this one handy
So glad that you and your friends enjoyed it!
Thanks for letting me know!
few months ago i baked this cake and i loved it
))
BUT… i baked it much shorter than 1 hour 45 minutes. i believe it was around 1 hour and it turned out just perfect…
Hi Minka – this recipe generally takes me at least 90 minutes in the oven (it’s a lot of batter and only baked at 160 degrees). Are you sure you made this one and not the other chocolate mud cake recipe which I’ve blogged?
http://www.insanitytheory.net/kitchenwench/chocolate-confessions/
I just wanted to let you know that i tried this today and it came out really good…the only thing is i used granulated sugar…and only added 397 grams of sugar… and i did a coffee buttercream for the middle (i cut the cake in two parts) and added strawberries …
p.s I used semi sweet chocolate….it gives it a bittersweet taste….thanks for the amazing recipe! 5 stars
this is really nice
I’m so glad you enjoyed it
I can see this cake working very well with a coffee buttercream and strawberries, nice work!
hi
i was just wondering since this is such a good recipe whether you know of any just as good in caramel? my boyfriends birthday is coming up and he loves caramel i would love to be able to make a cake just as moist n scrummy as the chocolate mud cake but as a caramel one instead…
Ta
Nicole
Unfortunately I’ve no recipe for caramel cakes, but I’ll ask around and see whether I can find one for you
Hi, you think i can make this cake in advance and freeze it before i decorate it?
thank you for your prompt response!!!
Can’t wait to make it!!
Hi there, I made this cake today and have great doubts about the amount of sugar. That is almost half a kilo.
I have NEVER put that amount of sugar in anything and I am a quite competant cook.
Anyway, I have just taken it out of the oven and the edges have risen and looked a little bit like an aero bar and the centre looks like a dropped pie.
Suggestions as to where I went wrong would be appreciated.
“I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who endowed us with sense, reason and intellect has intended us to forego their use” Gallileo Galilei
Hi Tracey,
I’ve made this cake over 20 times now and to be honest I’m at a bit of a loss as to why yours acted in that way. Quite a few readers have also tried it and written to me to say that they’ve loved it to and not reported any behaviour like this either (you can see their comments above). When you cut into the cake, what was the texture in the middle like? Was it fudgey or was it soft, fluffy and very cake-like? If the former, then sounds like it wasn’t baked for long enough.
Some common causes for cakes sinking in the middle include:
1. Overbeating the mixture
2. Baking at the ‘wrong’ temperature (if you’re in a particularly low or high altitude region, I’ve heard this can also affect baking)
3. Not baking it for long enough (hence incorrect texture in the middle)
Without actually seeing your entire baking process, I can’t diagnose the cause of the problem but hopefully you’ll be able to figure it out.
Cheers,
Ellie
Thanks for quick reply. Cut into it today and the texture is perfect all the way through. Managed to cover up the ugly top with loads of ganache. Still a bit confused as to why it looked like a dartboard. I have a Kleenmaid (St George) oven and the temp. is almost never right. It’s only 5 years old, Had the element replaced when it was brand new but as far as baking goes it really is hit and miss. Wonde r if any of your followers has had similar problems with this oven. Havn’t heard about the altitude theory, we are 12km inland from south coast, maybe I should just stick to slow roast lamb shoulder. Yummmmmmm!
Cheers,
Tracey
Hi Tracey,
I can’t say that I’m familiar with the Kleenaid range of ovens, we have a cheaper Italian import (the brand escapes my memory at the moment) but in the 7 years that I’ve been using it, the only time it hasn’t worked perfectly is when I blew the bottom element (thankfully now fixed).
If the baking is almost never right then you might want to run a few tests – firstly, buy a little oven thermometer and set the oven to 180 degrees C and then see what the thermometer says. If that’s right, it might be worthwhile getting someone in to service it and letting them know that it just doesn’t behave to see if they can find anything wrong with it.
Good luck!
Cheers,
Ellie
Thanks. Will do.
As I said it still tasted great and I didn’t get the sugar hit that I presumed would be there. I will be making this again and will let you know how it went.
Happy Long Weekend
Tracey
Hi Ellie! Thank you for providing such a wonderful blog!!
I’ve narrowed down my search for THE mud cake recipe of all time, and yours seems to be the number one contender so far! I’ve got to bake a cake for a friend’s birthday party next weekend and this is going to be it!
Do you have any tips on making sure it turns out perfectly? I’m a pretty good baker, but I want this to be impressive.
I’m from Aus and I’m thinking of using Cadbury chocolate however which brand do you prefer?
Thanks a lot, Chrissie
Nb. I’m going to do a trial run tomorrow so any tips would be greatly appreciated
x
Hi Chrissie,
Firstly, thanks for the comment!
When I make my chocolate cakes, I tend to use Nestle Plaidstowe (sp?) chocolate but there’s no reason that you couldn’t use a Cadbury dark chocolate for this 
I can offer a few tips which will hopefully help
1. Make sure you line the cake tin with non-stick baking paper to ensure that it’s easy to remove once it’s done
2. Try to mix it as little as possible after the flour is added. You want it to be just combined, as overmixing will cause this cake to create a “dome” as it bakes.
3. This particular cake will have the top crust up on the day that it’s baked – make sure you cover it with ganache and leave it 2-3 days. The cake matures during that time and really improves in flavour and texture. The ganache also moistens the crust and softens it during this resting period.
4. Be very careful and watch the baking temperature and time. What I like to do is test the cake after 30 minutes in the oven with a wooden skewer in the middle, and continue to do so every 5 minutes or so till the skewer comes out with moist (not wet) crumbs clinging to it. If the skewer comes out clean, then the cake has been overbaked and will be a little dry.
Good luck, and let me know how you go
Wow, thank you sooooo much for your prompt reply! I read it this morning and bought Plaistowe chocolate and a big cake container for storing it in the fridge.
I’ll keep you updated as I go along, fingers crossed it all works out well
Chrissie x
Okay Ellie, the cake is in the oven! I majorly buggered up because I made 250ml of my own buttermilk (lemon juice+milk) and poured the WHOLE lot in with the eggs *DOH!*. I managed to get half of it out using a small cup, but I don’t know if the cake will turn out correctly. Will let you know in about an hour!
Weeeeeeeee! Success! The cake is out and it’s pretty good!!!! I cooled it quickly thanks to the freezing cold temperature in my back room, then put it in the freezer for 15mins to ensure it was properly cooled. I then covered in ganache and tried a slice and…. Yummm! I’m happy with the texture and its density, but I’ll be making a couple of changes for the real cake next week;
1.) Will be using less coffee because the people at the party are young and only 3-4 of them drink coffee
2.) Going to try using 1/2 caster sugar and 1/2 brown sugar to hopefully get a different sweetness (I use this blend in a cupcake recipe and it’s divine)
3.) Increasing the chocolate quantity by using 125gm plaistowe choc and 125gm of cadbury dark for some extra richness.
Thank you so much for your tips, they certainly helped!!!!!
Chrissie xx
My pleasure – good luck
P.S. If you want extra richness, I’d suggest making a double quantity of chocolate ganache and splitting the cake into 3-4 layers and spreading the ganache inside
I do it all the time with this recipe, but I freeze the cake first so that it’s easier to maneuver 
Hey Ellie,
With a third of the cake I did as you suggested and split it into layers, filled them with ganache and wow, it was even better! This recipe DEFINITELY improves with age as you said!! With the other third of the cake I tried layers with chocolate buttercream which was even yummier!
I love this recipe!
Thanks Chrissie, I’m so glad that my tips worked for you
Hey Ellie, another update! Baked the recipe again (with my adjustments) and it’s perfect! Just perfect!!!
Decorated it with milk/dark choc ganache, white chocolate curls and filled it with layers of white chocolate buttercream. http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/6369/014mb.jpg
It’s going to be served tomorrow evening so I’ll take another pic and let you know what people think!
Thanks again!!!!! xo
Thanks Chrissie
Personally, I find buttercream to be way too sweet for my tastes and loathe having it as a filling, but the beauty of baking yourself is that you can always adapt recipes to your own personal tastes 
Heyy I just found this recipe and just finished making it. I also just found your blog which is very cool and I love your approach to recipies and food
although.. I’m So sick of chocolate now after all those ingredients… I don’t think I’ll even be able to eat the cake later! (no I will : P) I split it and put caramel filling… this is kinda my first time doing anything of the sort but anythign with lots of chocolate and caramel is hopefully sure to be good. Thanks for posting up such a brilliant recipie 
I wanted something really solid and chocolaty and moist and chocolatey and solid…and thats what I got!
actually the concept of making a practice cake was completely new to me ! i just winged it.. this occasion is my practice cake occasion : P
Thanks Sophie!
I’m so glad that you enjoyed this recipe 
Hi there =)
This recipe is great, my favourite thing is the density as I prefer heavier, thicker cake textures rather than the lighter, spongier type. But I wonder if it is possible to use less eggs or perhaps if you had any other recipe that resulted in the same beautiful texture, but used less eggs?
I promise im not complaining!
Thanks so much =D
Danielle
Thanks Deej. Unfortunately this is the only recipe I have for this particular texture and it needs the eggs to maintain the texture that you enjoyed so much. Baking is very much a sort of chemistry experiment in that ingredients should be treated as parts of the equation in order to get the same result each time. But if you cant have the eggs then I hope you’ll find a recipe that works for you
OMG! This cake is AWESOME.. 5/5. I used only 400g sugar instead of 480g. Turned out perfectly.. Thank you so much for the wonderful recipe!!
Thanks Sheena
I just made it for my boyfriend’s co-workers, but i took a little bit of the batter and cooked it apart so i could taste it (i make all the efforts and i don’t get chocolate cake … no way !!).
this is a really great recipe, but i had trouble with the amount of oil (i am french and it is difficult for me to measure 7 tbsp), so i had to improvise !!
also, i am not sure i got the right density, the one i made is moist and light when your pictures make it look quite dense…but my oven is CRAPPY (i am a student and couldn’t afford anything else snif) so after 40 minutes baking it started to smell like it was burning, and when i tested, my screwer came out clean, so i turned everything off.
Anyway, sorry this is such a looooong comment, just wanted to say that your blog is AWSOME, and even if there was some bumps on the road, this recipe came out really great, easy, and frankly not so difficult or long !!
Thanks and keep posting
I just made this yesterday, decreased the sugar to 380, and realized I forgot to put in the oil 10 minutes after it’s in the oven…….I expected the texture to be a bit hard….but oh noooo……it was still very moist and tasted sooooo goooood, everyone loved it. Thank you for the recipe
I have a question, should we freeze the cake before carving or is it save to carve right after it is cooled down to room temperature?
What a great recipe so easy to make. I made it on Friday for my sons birthday on the Saturday, everyone loved it including an ex baker! Although I’ve just had some now, it’s Sunday and it’s much nicer, gutted I didn’t make it earlier! I did reduce sugar by 80g and did half caster and half brown sugar, although even if extra 80g was in there I don’t think it would be too sweet. I also didn’t put in coffee but purely because I forgot it! I decorated it with dream whip and smarties
Hi, I’m really keen to try ur mud cake recipe. However, I’ve made mud cakes before and they always seem to sink. I think it has something to do with my oven. My oven is fan-forced and this function can’t be turned off. Therefore do you suggest reducing the temperature by 20 degrees C? Or do mud cakes really hate a fan forced oven? thanks
Hey Ellie! Thought I’d let you know that I made your cake for my engagement party yesterday and it was a MASSIVE success! here’s the one we had on display with white chocolate buttercream:
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/305227_10150941342810543_821580542_21617505_1179927692_n.jpg
then I made two with chocolate ganache that was kept in the kitchen and sliced/served once we had cut the white one
I love love love this recipe, you are amazing for posting it!!!!!!!!!
Hello Ellie,
I was looking around for a nice Chocolate mud cake recipe when i bumped into your beautiful blog!well,you are a fantastic baker with a fantastic blog and i really enjoyed my time being here:) I hope to come back soon to check out more of your interesting recipes – so nice meeting you:)
Hei Ellie
Thank you a lot for this wonderful recipe. I made little cupcakes out of it and they are perfekt. This will be my favorite chocolate cupcake recipe from now on =)
I will search your blog for more great ideas and hopefully my baking skills are good enough to try a few other recipes.
Greetings from Switzerland
Hi Jane,
Thanks for the lovely comment – I’m so glad that you enjoyed this recipe, and really appreciate that you took the time to tell me that you enjoyed it
Cheers,
Ellie
Thanks Jodi!
I’m so glad that you enjoyed this one 
Hi Ellie,
Thanks for posting this recipe! I’m in the U.S. and I have never heard of a mud cake until today. This sounds wonderful! You mentioned this should hold up for decorating. I plan on making a purse cake covered in fondant. Would this cake hold up with the weight of fondant?
Thank You,
Kelly
Hi Kelly,
So long as the fondant isn’t too thick then it should be fine
Keep the thickness of the fondant to about 3-5mm and I’d be surprised if it didn’t hold up!
Cheers,
Ellie
Hi Ellie,
I made this cake today and it sank in the middle. When i sliced it, it seems very oily and very wet in the middle. The texture is not as dense as I expected to be as in the picture above. The oven is okay and I baked it for 1h and 40m at 160 C.
…
What do you think went wrong with my baking? I envy others when they share success stories after baking this recipe
Thank you very much
Shaw
Temperature is a major factor. Cakes fall when they are cooked at a temperature which is too low, or too high. The oven should be preheated all the way before inserting the cake pan, and you may want to use an oven thermometer to ensure that the oven is at the proper temperature. It is also important to cook the cake for the recommended amount of time, making adjustments for substituted ingredients, and to avoid jostling the cake while it bakes or cools. Cakes fall as they cool sometimes, so make sure to put the cake in a safe place.
Hi Ellie,
this cake looks amazing!!!
I am making a cake for my sons 21st, and it is 3 layers.
the largest tin which will be on the bottom is 12×3, then 8×3 and 6×3 on the top.
Do you think this receipe would be suitable to with stand being stacked on top of one another?
Also how do i adjust the receipe for the largest tin?
I’m trying to make it look three sets of weights as my son does weightlifting… if that makes any sense..
Your suggestions for this gorgeous sounding cake would be most appreciative.
thanks Ellie
Chrissy
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