Orange Dark Chocolate Mud Cake Recipe

Sea themed orange dark chocolate mud cake with ganache and modelling chocolate

This is a variation of the Australian Women’s Weekly mud cake recipe.
675g Dark eating chocolate – chopped,
400g unsalted butter
2 tablespoons of very finely zested orange zest, (at least 3 or 4 big oranges).
390 ml freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tablespoon of natural vanilla extract.
275g brown sugar
338g plain flour (cake flour will give a lighter cake)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
4 large eggs

Method:
preheat oven to 155C (140C fan forced) line and grease a 19cm square pan.
Stir chocolate butter orange juice, zest, water, sugar and vanilla in large heavy-based pot over very low heat until smooth, then cool for 15 minutes.
Whisk in sifted flours and lightly beaten eggs, pour into the pan and bake for about 2 1/2 hours or until a thin skewer comes out dry with just a few moist crumbs on it. Cool in the tin for about 15 minutes before turning out on o a cooling rack.

This is a dense recipe, usually made with coffee liqueur, coffee granules and water, I find the alcohol and coffee flavour overpowering, so I made it a dark chocolate orange mud cake by omitting the coffee, and replacing the water and liqueur liquid measurements with the same amount of freshly squeezed orange juice and zest which gives it a brighter, fresher flavour. I also add very finely zested orange zest to the cream when I’m making the ganache to complement the orange mud cake. I recommend using cake flour to make a lighter textured cake and adding some bicarb to balance the acidity of the oranges and help the cake to rise better.

This is not an especially groundbreaking recipe and it is one of the least cost-effective ways to make a mud cake, but it tastes awesome and the texture is always great. The mixture can be doubled or tripled, and cooked for longer at a lower temperature. 

Original recipe called for 310ml water, 80 ml coffee liqueur and one and a half teaspoons of instant coffee granules, but this results in a really bitter slightly overbearing coffee flavour.