I’ve always had a sweet tooth. We have a saying in our family that too and sweet cannot -ever- be put in the same sentence. So my go-to sweet has always been a chocolate cake, the one you can only take with two glasses of chilled milk. I have been on the lookout for the perfect-yet-so-easy chocolate cake recipe, and this one hits the mark. It will definitely help on a not so good day, put happy faces in a birthday or just a bit of awesome in your day. FYI, It’s loaded with calories :). Oh and don’t buy the cheapest chocolate, go for the best quality. It’s worth every extra penny, I can assure you that! Enjoy!

Chocolate mud cake recipe

::: Ingredients :::

• 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup oil
• 250g dark chocolate, broken up or roughly chopped
• 1 cup hot strong coffee, can be strong instant
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup Raw Sugar
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 2 eggs

::: Chocolate Ganache :::

• 400g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
• 1 cup cream

:::Method:::

• Preheat oven to 180°C. Line the base of a 22 – 23 cm spring-form pan with non-stick baking paper and spray with non-stick baking spray.
• Mix the lemon juice with the milk and set aside for it to sour the milk.
• Place oil, chocolate and hot coffee in a microwave bowl or small saucepan and heat gently, stirring often, until chocolate is melted and the mixture smooth. Cool.
• In a large bowl, mix the flour baking soda, baking powder, sugar and cocoa.
• Mix the eggs and soured milk into the cooled chocolate mixture, combine thoroughly, and then whisk into the dry ingredients.
• Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 1 hour. When tested, fudgy crumbs will still adhere to a skewer. This is the desirable sticky mud cake consistency.
• Cool for 15 minutes in the tin, then turn out and cool further on a wire rack. When cold, cut the cake in half using a serrated knife, ice the centre and top with thick Chocolate Ganache icing.

::: Chocolate Ganache :::

• Place both chocolate and cream in a saucepan and stir over medium heat until chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.
• Cool then refrigerate for 30 – 40 minutes until the mixture is a thick spreading consistency.
• Chill the frosted cake and serve with softly whipped cream or thick yoghurt.

Yum!