November 7 is Kladdkakans Dag!

Or, if you’re not Swedish, Mud Cake Day. I’m not exactly sure why, but those beautiful people have created a day for this delight. After a brief attempt at Googling the day, I believe it has something to do with a memorial day.

Whatever the reason, between my love of Sweden and my love of cake, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to make something delicious! I adapted my recipe very slightly from Kirsten Tibballs’ (she’s an amazing pastry chef and chocolatier, who runs Savour School, and has an absolutely mesmerising Instagram) classic chocolate mud cake recipe.

I could not have been more pleased with the results. It’s fudgy and dense, sticky and sweet, completely over the top; what more could you want from a mud cake?!

Chocolate mud cake

200g dark chocolate
310g butter
1 1/3 cups caster sugar
310ml water
1 ¾ cups plain flour
2 ½ tbsp cocoa
1 tsp bicarb
2 eggs

Chocolate ganache (milk, white and dark)

125g white chocolate
90g milk chocolate
90g dark chocolate
¾ cup thickened cream

Grease and line a 20cm round cake tin and preheat your oven to 160°C.

Melt your dark chocolate with the butter, caster sugar and water in a saucepan without bringing to a boil. Remove from the heat and set to one side.

Sift the flour, cocoa and baking powder together, then pour melted chocolate mix over your dry ingredients, mixing until you’ve got a smooth consistency. Add in your eggs and mix until just combined. Pour into your tin (giving the tin a few light taps on the counter to get rid of some of the bubbles) then pop into the oven for 60-70 minutes.

Your cake will still be a bit wobbly when you take it out of the oven, but don’t be tempted to over-bake it – this wobbliness will keep it delectably fudgy. Allow the cake to cool at room temperature*, remove from the cake tin, then pop in the fridge for at least four hours.

*While your cake is cooling, the centre will sink – never fear! You have two options; one, fill the centre with ganache and make it some ridiculously delicious chocolate well, or two, level off the edges (like I have done in these photos) and have a flat-topped cake.

Remove the cake from the fridge just before you start on the ganache – the coolness of the cake will help your ganache set.

Put each type of chocolate into a separate container (Pyrex jugs are great to help you with pouring later) and set to one side. Put your cream in a heavy-bottomed saucepan on a medium heat and bring to a boil – stir it lightly so that it doesn’t catch on the bottom. Leave on the heat until it froths up impressively, then remove from the heat. Pour ¼ cup of the cream onto each of the containers of chocolate, whisking them until the chocolate has melted. Set to one side for ten minutes.

If you’re planning on putting the ganache on the cake at a later time, cover with cling wrap touching the surface so that it doesn’t develop a skin.

Grab an offset spatula (or a spoon will do). Set your cake on a cooling rack and set that cake rack on a tray lined with baking paper – this might get a little messy! Spoon your chocolate ganaches onto your cake in random blobs, covering the top of the cake, then use your spatula to marble them. Smooth the ganache over the edges so so that you’ve got good coverage. Top with fruit and chocolate as desired, then pop into the fridge for at least 20 minutes before serving.