You know what? Every now and then there is a cake that after you take one bite, it makes you put one hand in the sky and do a jig because the spirit just caught you.
Just then and there. Jigging in your spot. Be damned anyone who’s watching.
This cake is that.
Allow me to explain.
My favourite chocolate cake to make is my Mocha Cloud Cake. By it’s very definition, it’s airy, silky, pillowy and belongs with angels in the clouds of heaven almighty.
This cake however, by it’s very definition, came straight from the damp, claggy depths of the dirt. It’s pure filth. It’s name might not feel appetising to say, but you need to trust me.
I throw myself into the full adoration for this cake. One experience of this cake and I swear you will not only need a pint of milk and a nap, but you will also be searching high and low for spare 20 minutes to put it together again.
Now I warn you. It is VERY rich and it is VERY moist. It’s a Mud Cake, not a Sand Cake.
If you want something with more of a crumb, you’ll need to hit that backspace and find something else. But if you want something so slick, moist, gooey and literally dripping from your fork with every mouthful, preheat your oven and let’s go.
Preheat the oven to 160c and grease/line a loose bottom 20cm tin.
In the microwave, melt 180g of unsalted butter and leave to one side to cool slightly.
In a big bowl, combine 320g of caster sugar with a drizzle of vanilla essence. Now pour in the butter and give everything a stir.
Crack in 3 eggs and whisk again until everything is incorporated.
It will create a luminous yellow slush but bear with me.
Sieve in 250g of plain flour and 50g of cocoa powder and while it sits on top of the eggy mix, before you stir, add 100g of finely chopped dark chocolate into the flour and cocoa.
Don’t use chocolate chips. This chocolate is what is going to add to the melting chocolate goo, so get a bar and chop it with a knife. It’ll be worth it.
Now mix everything together and keep going until you get a thick, lumpy chocolate batter.
Pour this into the prepared tin, smooth the top and slip in the oven for 30 minutes.
After the 35 minutes, take it out of the oven and check that a small, thin skewer comes out with just a bit of wet, chocolate goo on it. That’s what you want here.
Now let the cake TOTALLY cool in the tin. Take it out now and the chocolate will ooze out. The colder the better here.
When it’s cool and you take the cake out of the tin, chuck it on a plate or a cake stand and let’s make the ganache. You could totally eat it by itself, but I can’t help myself.
For the ganache, just zap 50g of dark chocolate in a microwave until melted, stirring every 10 or so seconds. When the chocolate is melted, pour in 50ml of double cream and stir to combine until it turns into a glossy, sheet shiny chocolate sauce.
Pour this on to the cake and using the back of a spoon, cover the top of the cake (and the sides if you got that kind of skill) and then serve it.
MIKEY AND THE KITCHEN. 