Dark, decadent, super rich, and fudgy, this Chocolate Orange Mud Cake is for serious chocoholics. Chocolate Mud Cake is one of my all time favourite cakes. For those who’ve never tried Mud Cake, it’s like a chocolate brownie on steroids. Do not expect this cake to be light and fluffy. It is super fudgy and bakes low and slow to ensure that it stays super moist. It’s the type of cake where you cut a sliver instead of a slice. And as if that’s not enough chocolate, it’s smothered in a layer of velvety smooth chocolate ganache.
I’ve made the original version of Chocolate Mud Cake numerous times, and have even made a layered version, but thought it would be a great idea to change it up a bit. Chocolate and orange is a classic combination for a reason. I am sure almost every chocolate company and chocolatier in the world have made a bar or truffle in this classic flavour. For this cake, I was inspired by my parents’ favourite flavour of De Villiers Chocolate, their Orange & Vanilla Dark Chocolate. It’s deliciously chocolatey with a punch of orange flavour. To add even more flavour, I’ve added some freshly squeezed orange juice and orange zest to the cake.
De Villiers offers six packs of most of their bars on their online shop. As I was making a family sized cake on this occasion I doubled the recipe, which required all six bars for the cake and the ganache. Unless you’re making this cake for a larger gathering, I would not suggest making double the recipe since, as mentioned above, the cake is super decadent and one only needs a thin slice. My recipes offer the option to halve or double the recipe with one click, so that it’s easy for you to adjust.
Chocolate Orange Mud Cake
Ingredients
Chocolate Mud Cake
- 1 tbsp Instant espresso coffee powder or granules
- 60 ml Hot/Boiling Water
- 120 grams Orange & Vanilla Dark Chocolate Chopped
- 113 grams Unsalted Butter
- 1 cup Castor Sugar
- 30 ml Freshly squeezed orange juice*
- 60 ml Milk
- 1 tbsp Oil (Vegetable/Sunflower/Canola)
- 2 Large Eggs
- 1 tbsp Orange Zest*
- 1 cup All-Purpose/Cake Flour
- ¼ cup Good quality cocoa powder
- ¾ tsp Baking Powder
- ¼ tsp Baking Soda (bicarbonate of soda)
- ¼ tsp Salt
Chocolate Ganache
- 125 ml Fresh Cream
- 120 grams Orange & Vanilla Dark Chocolate Finely chopped or grated
Instructions
Chocolate Mud Cake
- Preheated the oven to 150°C
- Mud cake requires baking a bit like a Christmas cake, long, slow and low heat
- Line the base and sides of a 20cm cake tin* with baking paper, making sure the paper extends above the top of the tin. Set aside
- In a small saucepan, add the boiling water and coffee and stir to dissolve. Then add the chocolate, butter, sugar and orange juice to the coffee mixture and bring to low-medium heat. Stir completely melted and well incorporated. Set aside to cool slightly
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and oil. Add the zest and mix through. Add the chocolate mixture and mix well
- Sift in the dry ingredients and stir until fully incorporated
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin
- Bake for around 1h10, (start checking at 1 hour) until a cake tester or skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean (See notes below if making double the recipe)
- Remove from the oven and place the tin on a wire cooling rack. Allow to cool in the tin for around 30 minutes. Then remove the tin and baking paper, turn the cake upside down onto the cooling rack, and allow to cool for at least another hour before covering with ganache
- If making the cake ahead of time, cool completely then cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge until ready to decorate
Chocolate Ganache
- Chop the chocolate as fine as possible (or grate) and place into a medium mixing bowl
- In a small saucepan, warm the cream until hot. The cream must be hot enough to melt the chocolate but do not boil it
- Remove the cream from the heat, pour the cream evenly over the chocolate. Work quickly then cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a tight fitting plate and set aside for 3 – 5 minutes
- Remove the cover and begin to whisk the cream and chocolate together
- Mix until the mixture is smooth and velvety (Note: the Orange & Vanilla Dark Chocolate I used has tiny pieces of orange within. If you want to achieve a smooth ganache coating, pour the ganache through a sieve into a jug at this point before pouring over the cake)
- Place the cake on top of an upside down bowl and place the bowl on a tray or plate to catch the run off. Gently pour the ganache over the cake, working in a circular motion from the middle towards the edges. Letting it run evenly down the sides
- When it stops to run off/drip, gently lift the cake onto a cake stand or plate. Place in the fridge for at least an hour or two for the ganache to set
- Serve as is or decorate as you wish
Notes
- If making a non-orange/plain version, exclude the orange zest and juice, increase the coffee mixture to ⅓ cup (80ml)
- If doubling the recipe, use a 23cm round cake tin and increase the baking time to 1h45
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