Caramel Mud Cake (and cupcakes)

Oh my...Yummmmm

I have been wanting to try baking a caramel mud cake for so long and this is the end result. I baked a cake for an upcoming project and some extra cupcakes, however I'm a klutz and the cake was almost cooked when I decided it would be fun to drop the oven tray and watch the cake flip over and splat on the floor. Oh yes I'm talented at this I now believe as it's the second time this has happened. And No I didn't take a photo of the mess - but don't worry there's always next time. It was however a blessing in disguise as the first time round I forgot to substitute brown for castor sugar and I think this would really make for a stronger caramel flavour.

Oh and I also made some caramel ganache by adding Nestle Caramel Top 'n' Fill to white chocolate ganache. This was a fairly subtle flavour as you can't add too much or the ganache will be too runny.

Caramel Mud Cake

Adapted from Jessica Pedemont's white mud cake recipe

Makes an 8 inch (20cm) round cake or 24 cupcakes

250g unsalted butter

250g white chocolate

220ml water

1½ cups brown sugar

2 cups plain flour

1 cup self-raising flour

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 tsp salt

1 380g tin Nestle Caramel Top 'n' Fill

1.   Preheat oven to 160°C (the original recipe has fan-forced but I think it's better to have a lower temperature for mudcakes and cupcakes)

2.   Place butter and water in a saucepan over medium heat and stir until melted. Turn off heat, add chocolate, and stir until even and well combined

3.   Sift flours into a large bowl, then add sugar and salt. Mix together and make a well in the centre

4.   Pour the chocolate mixture, vanilla and eggs into the centre of the flour mixture. Mix together with a wooden spoon until even and well combined

5.   Transfer Top 'n' Fill into a bowl and mix thoroughly with a fork until smooth with no lumps. Add Top 'n' Fill to cake mixture and stir until well combined

6.   Pour into a greased and lined cake tin or cupcake papers and bake for times specified below

For cupcakes, bake for about 30 minutes (ovens and cupcake sizes will vary, so it's a good idea to start checking at 20 minutes, then every 5 minutes until a skewer comes out clean or with crumbs attached - no gooey batter). Remove from cupcake tin and allow to cool on a rack.

For 8 inch cake, bake for about 2 hours (mine took 2.5 hours to cook as I used homemade baking strips made out of folded newspaper taped around the outside of the cake tin and an alfoil covering over the top of the cake. This was to encourage even baking without overcooking the outside or top of the cake. Ovens vary in their accuracy so you will need to keep checking, and it is done when a skewer comes out clean or with crumbs attached - no gooey batter).

Allow to cool in the tin then store in an airtight container for up to 1 week, or freeze for up to 3 months wrapped with 3 layers of cling wrap. Mudcakes are best eaten at room temperature and at least 1 day after baking to develop that yummy mudcake texture.

So now the cakes are baked, what are we going to ice them with? Delicious caramel ganache of course.

Caramel Ganache

325g white chocolate, chopped

100ml pure cream

80g Nestle Caramel Top 'n' Fill

Make ganache by placing chocolate and cream in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 20-30 second bursts stirring after each and stop once chocolate is 75% melted. Stir until completely melted and smooth, then if possible allow to set overnight. Stir Top 'n' Fill with a fork until smooth with no lumps. Add to ganache and mix in well. Use as a filling for a cake or pipe swirls on cupcakes.