Caramilk Dreams Come True: A Mouthwatering Caramel Mud Cake Recipe!

Love the velvety, moist texture of mud cakes? Today we are making a caramel mud cake using a ready made Caramilk chocolate which makes things so easy and really gives you a strong caramel flavour! Mud Cakes are one of the easiest cakes to make (no mixer needed!) and one of the most popular. They also last for a while and are great for cake decorating and sculpting. If you love dense, velvety mud cakes then you'll love this caramel mud cake recipe! This is a definite pushy recipe.

Confession: I love making mud cakes because they're easy. Like ludicrously easy. Just melt and stir and then bake. No mixer is needed, all you want is a bowl, spatula and whisk. But when you serve up this mud cake people may think you've split the atom it's so good. This mud cake has a dense, tight crumb but is incredibly moist and is perfect for cake decoration or just eating as is. It's a great cake to transport too because it is sturdy.

The Key Is Layering the Caramel

I love caramel flavoured everything and in this cake we use a few things to give it that signature caramel flavour. The first thing is Caramilk chocolate which is caramel flavoured chocolate. The second is the dark brown sugar and the third is the vanilla. On top of that we use Caramilk chocolate and cream to make a wonderful caramel ganache topping!

Does This Mud Cake Freeze Well?

This mud cake also freezes really well. I baked this a couple of months earlier and kept it in the freezer and took it out the night before to bring to a birthday picnic. It defrosted easily and I think it might have even improved in texture! If you are freezing it, place the cake in the freezer uncovered to freeze hard for a few hours. Then wrap the whole cake in cling film or foil. When defrosting, take the cake out of the freezer take the cake out of the wrapping and place it in a cake box to defrost overnight.

I brought this to a recent Elliott family birthday picnic. It was held the day after our Halloween party and I was exhausted. All I could cobble together was some leftover dips, salad and crackers from Halloween and I defrosted this birthday cake the night before and we had our contribution.

It was a smaller crowd than usual as two of Mr NQN's siblings weren't able to make it so it was his mother, his sister Amaya, her husband Laporello and their kids Jett and his little brother Finn who was turning six years old. It was at Manly Lagoon that was fairly busy on this sunny Sunday but we arrived hungry so I laid out the food and grabbed a plate to eat. I was worried that our food wouldn't be eaten because it was just party leftovers but it was all eaten up. The Elliotts cook very simply - their pasta salad is boiled pasta with no dressing, pesto or oil just the juice from cut tomatoes and cucumber chunks and no salt so it's fairly plain food.

For most of the afternoon I sat back in the picnic chair and relaxed in the sun. We sang Finn Happy Birthday and cut this caramel mud cake. I always hold my breath when people cut into a cake and try it for the first time but this was moist and velvety in texture that I had a second piece (as I mentioned, I think it actually improved from being in the freezer which can happen). Mr NQN is actually pretty good with children and for hours he and Jett sat huddled together over his phone. Mr NQN has an endless supply of patience and he played online chess with Jett who has a chess tournament coming up. A part of me felt bad that I had no interest in it but I realised I'm more of a hands off aunt. I'm the aunt that brings you food and cake and that's my forte. It may be a cake with a slice cut out of it for photos but it will be a cake!

So tell me Dear Reader, what sort of aunt or uncle are you? Do you like Caramilk or caramel flavoured food?

Caramel Caramilk Mud Cake

An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 1 hour 10 minutes

• 250g/8.8ozs butter, cubed
• 180g/6ozs Caramilk chocolate, broken up
• 320g/11.3ozs dark brown sugar
• 350ml/12.3flozs buttermilk
• 2 eggs
• 3 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
• 280g/9.8ozs cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon fine salt

For Ganache

• 180g/6ozs Caramilk chocolate, broken up
• 90ml/3flozs thickened or pure cream
• 1 tablespoon glucose syrup

*Cake flour can be bought at the supermarket. You can also make it at home. To make 1 cup/150g/5.2ozs of cake flour replace 2 tablespoons of plain all purpose flour with cornflour/fine cornstarch and whisk well. I usually mix up a big batch of this and keep it in a container ready for baking cakes as it produces a softer texture.

Step 1 - Preheat oven to 140C/284F fan forced. Line the base and sides of a 20cm/8inch round tin (not springform) with parchment.

Step 2 - In a large saucepan add the butter, chocolate and brown sugar on low heat and stir and melt. Add the buttermilk and stir in. Take off the heat and allow to cool for 15 minutes. Whisk the eggs and vanilla together and then whisk this into the chocolate mixture.

Step 3 - In a jug whisk the flour, baking powder and salt. Sift this over the chocolate mixture stirring it in so no lumps form. If you do find there are lumps, pass the cake batter through a sieve. Then pour into the tin and allow to sit on the counter for 10 minutes. Then bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until the centre is no longer wobbly. Cool in the tin and then turn out gently.

Step 4 - To make the ganache make sure that the chocolate is finely chopped and place in a large heatproof bowl. Heat the cream and glucose syrup until almost boiling and pour all over the chocolate. Cover and allow to sit for 10 minutes, then stir to ensure that the chocolate is all melted. Allow to sit at room temperature until thicker and more spreadable in texture. Pour over the cake and serve.

Thermomix directions For Cake:

Step 1 - Add the flour, baking powder and salt and set to 10 seconds, speed #7. Remove and set aside in a jug. Add chocolate and set to 10 seconds, speed #7. Add the butter and brown sugar to the TM bowl and set to 3 minutes/30C/speed #2 or until melted. Add the buttermilk and set to 10 seconds, speed #5. Add the eggs and vanilla and set to 30 seconds speed 4. Then add the flour mixture and and set to 10 seconds speed 4. Then pour into the tin and allow to sit on the counter for 10 minutes. Then bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until the centre is no longer wobbly. Cool in the tin and then turn out gently.

Step 2 - Make the ganache. Place the chocolate in the bowl and set to 10 seconds, speed #7. Scrape down the sides and add the cream and glucose syrup and set to 3 minutes/60C/speed # 2 until combined and melted. Allow to sit at room temperature until thicker and more spreadable in texture. Pour over the cake and serve.