Chocolate mud cake with caramel ganache

Where did chocolate mud cake originate? 

When it comes to one of the most crowd-pleasing cakes around, there is a style that stands out as the most decadent, moist and truly hard to fault. Not only is a chocolate mud cake recipe easy to follow, but it’s also a well-loved cake that suits any occasion or celebration.  

The origin of this dense cake is from the southern states of the USA. The Mississippi Mud Pie is believed to have derived its name from the similarities of the dark mud from the banks of the Mississippi River and was generally known as Mississippi Mud Cake. The dark and dense chocolate dessert is a fan favourite thanks to its versatility and, of course, its rich, gooey deliciousness. 

What is chocolate mud cake vs chocolate cake?

What makes this particular dessert so popular is its lovely texture and crumbs. The addition of melted chocolate to the batter gives it a denser texture and richer flavour than a regular chocolate cake. So, funnily enough, chocolate is what makes the difference between mud cake and chocolate cake.

This recipe for chocolate mud cake is a popular choice not only for birthdays and office celebrations, but thanks to its ability to be prepared ahead and kept well before serving – plus, a flavour that pleases the masses – you’ll commonly find this style of cake at engagement parties and weddings, too. 

Tips for how to make mud cake perfect every time

How do you make a decadent chocolate mud cake the best? With the addition of a sweet caramel ganache, this rich chocolatey dessert is elevated to something that will truly impress. While a dark chocolate ganache is a suitable topping for a rich dark chocolate cake, this version is beautifully balanced by the added sweetness of the caramel-infused ganache. 

There are several ways to make a caramel-infused ganache, including mixing a caramelised sugar syrup or gently caramelising white chocolate before adding it to warmed cream to create a ganache. However, to make it simple, our recipe uses the already caramelised Caramilk chocolate, resulting in a Caramilk ganache.

This caramel ganache recipe refers to melting the chocolate over a boiling pot of water, but if you have a microwave, you can try this method instead. You will need to prevent the chocolate from seizing – to do this, heat it in 20-second increments in the microwave and stir to ensure it doesn’t heat up too quickly. 

While the caramel ganache icing is important to create a delicious dessert, there are a couple of tips to keep in mind about how to bake a chocolate mud cake to ensure it turns out perfectly.

• Make sure the batter made up of the chocolate mud cake ingredients has cooled before adding eggs to it. This is to avoid the eggs cooking in the mixture as you add them. 

• Don’t overmix the batter. Overmixing will cause more gluten to be produced and make your cake denser and chewier. 

For a variation on a chocolate cake with dark chocolate, why not try a white chocolate mud cake?

It’s time to impress guests: how to decorate your mud cake

The finishing touch for this chocolate cake with ganache is to decorate the generous dollops of ganache with caramel popcorn, making it a real showstopper. 

While chocolate mud cake with ganache will last perfectly well for a few days at room temperature or in the fridge, the caramel popcorn will need to be removed before storage if you have any leftovers on the day it is served.

Other options are to not use caramel popcorn at all, leaving the homemade chocolate mud cake plain, or decorating with chocolate curls or shavings, nuts or berries instead.