Gooey Chocolate Mud Cake

This is so easy to make and you only need a little bit to eat so it is good as a plate - a little goes a long way!

Ingredients:

250 grams butter

250 grams dark cooking chocolate

2 cups caster sugar

1 and 1/3 cups cold water

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 and 1/2 cups plain flour

pinch of salt

3 eggs lightly beaten

Method:

*Heat the oven to 160 degrees fan bake ( I put it up to 180 / 200 for non fan bake). Grease or line a circular baking tin.

* Put butter, chocolate, sugar, water and vanilla into a pot over a low heat until melted and smooth - keep stirring regularly. Once melted and smooth take off the heat to cool.

*Sift together cocoa, flour and salt then mix into the chocolate mixture with a whisk. Add the eggs a little bit at a time.

*Pour into the cake tin and bake for 50 minutes. use a skewer to test its readiness - it should come out clean but moist (with a little bit of mix from the centre of the cake) so that it is still gooey (not uncooked) in the middle.

*Cool the cake in the tin and then cover with chocolate ganache.

Chocolate Ganache

Ingredients:

3/4 cup cream

200 grams dark cooking chocolate

1/4 cup hot water (I don't use this much, just a quick drizzle from the jug is sufficient)

Method:

*Put the cream and chocolate into a heat proof bowl (or whatever) then place in a pot of simmering water.

*Keep on the heat mixing until the chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. 

*Stir in the water (apparently it makes the ganache more glossy)

*Let cool to room temperature as the mixture will thicken. (I put it in the fridge as I find it is still very runny at room temperature - this is also another reason I don't put the full amount of hot water in.)

*Spread over the cake and then decorate anyway you like. 

I usually make this cake the night before and put the ganache on in the morning before taking it to wherever it needs to go so that the ganache has enough time to get thicker in the fridge. The ganache will need stirring when you take it out of the fridge before spreading it over the cake. Don't worry if it is too thick - just leave it on the bench for a little bit and it will soften. If I make this cake in the morning I make the ganache straight after the cake is put in the oven and then put it in the fridge. It is a bit runnier than the overnight ganache but is still fine (thick enough) to use after a couple of hours.