This is quite possibly the most yummy mud cake recipe ever, especially if you are a chocolate cake fan! It is quite easy, but the end result will have your friends wondering if it was homemade. I have made this quite a number of times, and have also made cup cakes with the recipe which were equally successful (the recipe will make approximately 24 cupcakes). As it is quite special, you could use this recipe to make a tiered wedding cake, or make lots of cupcakes and arrange them on a tiered platter with fresh flowers in between the cupcakes as an alternative wedding cake.
Easy Moist Chocolate Mud Cake Recipe Ingredients
- 1 & 3/4 cups plain flour
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 cup caster sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup sour milk (1 cup whole milk with 1 tsp white vinegar added) or buttermilk
- 1 cup coffee (long black strength)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Easy Moist Chocolate Mud Cake Recipe Method
Sift flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine. Add eggs, coffee, milk, oil and vanilla and beat for 2 minutes with a hand mixer on medium speed until well combined (the mixture will be quite runny).
Pour into a greased and floured 24 cm x 24 cm square or 24cm round cake tin and bake in a 180°C oven for approximately 35-40 minutes (when testing the cake, a cake skewer should come out clean, but the cake should still be moist).
Alternatively pour the mixture into 24 lined muffin cases (you can buy some really pretty silver foil cases) and bake in a 180°C oven for approximately 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven, allow to cool for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a cake rack and allow to cool completely before icing.
If you want a flat cake top for icing, simply cut off the top of the cake where any section has risen unevenly to level it, and then turn over. Ice the bottom of the cake with the chocolate ganache.
Chocolate Ganache Icing Recipe Ingredients
- 150g dark chocolate (I use 100g Lindt 70% dark chocolate combined with 50g Lindt milk chocolate)
- 100ml cream
Chocolate Ganache Icing Recipe Method
Chop the chocolate into small pieces and place in a small heatproof bowl. Bring the cream to scalding point (just under boiling) in a small saucepan (you could also do this in the microwave).
Pour the cream over the chocolate and then stir thoroughly for a few minutes until the chocolate has melted and looks glossy. Allow to cool for approximately 10-20 minutes until thickened, but still pourable (you could place in the fridge to hurry this step along) then pour over the cake and smooth over the top and sides.
You can decorate the finished cake anyway you like, fresh flowers look great, as do fresh fruits. We have chopped up some strawberries and blueberries for this recipe.
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I make a similar chocolate cake but use Milo or drinking chocolate instead of coffee and its really yummy too
I just made the cake and thought it was quite delicious, even without the icing!
And it was so easy and tasted fine with the coffee. It wasn’t too moist or dry, its was a good mix! Thanks for the easy recipe! Will make this again!
Disappointed… this is an ok chocolate cake, but it is not a mud cake and certainly not particularly moist. Your description of the cake is a bit misleading! A mudcake is moist and will almost certainly have chocolate in the ingredients. Would never use this for a wedding!
NOT IMPRESSED. Please fix your website. I was searching for a gluten free chocolate and this came up as gluten free in the cookbook.com. I would be greatful if you could fix your website.
Thanks
Cate
shut up Cate…. just get out
can you be specific about the coffee, we just made it with a cup of instant coffeee granuals. our mistake :/
Thankyou Clair for this beautiful recipe! I just made it and it looks and smells great! xxx
Wow, wow, wow, what a wonderful cake. I just made it today. DIVINE! My family were all very happy! Thanks so much for sharing such a wonderful recipe, and for all the helpful hints in comments.
Hugs to you. From me.
Thanks Valerie!
So glad you liked the recipe
Cheers
Clair
The recipe is perfect! Used it for a child’s lady-bird cake and it turned out perfectly!
I used a bit more milk, cocoa and sugar, as well as adding about a tablespoon of Port (Not in the children’s one, but for other occasions). It adds a nice flavour to the cake. Coffe instead of chocolate is a great idea! Really helps when you’re no in a hurry to shop for ingredients, but feel the urge to bake something anyway.
Perfect, moist and lasted all of ten minutes.
Thanks!
Emily.
Hi Emily
Sorry, I have been a bit slack in responding! Thank you for your comments, glad you like the recipe, and that it worked perfectly for you!
Thanks for letting me know
Cheers
Clair
Sorry Clair, well written recipe but defiantly Not a Mud cake what you refered to as “gluggy” in a prior note is what the rest of the world refers to as moist. I’d call this a lovely sponge tirramasue with a choc ganach coat
hi i was wondering that kind of cream was used?? is it thickened cream or like regular cooking cream… can you give me any brands? anyone??
p.s. sourmilk better or butter milk??
Hi Layla
With regards to the cream, I use pure cream in cooking (dairy farmers or pura both do pure cream), but honestly, you could use thickened cream also (whatever you have on hand).
If you have buttermilk, I would use this, but if not, then soured milk is the next best option.
Cheers
Clair
mennnnnnnnnnnn
its the best ever
it the worst cake ever
The cake was great, really there is no need for the remarks DONT ADD THE COFFEE IF NOT WANTED. Or just dont leave a comment, either way this doesnt happen.
Glad you liked it Holly, thanks for letting us know
Cheers
Clair
Hi Clair
sorry to wade in – there are mud cake recipes out there without coffee just google chocolate mud cake recipe – I found one in about 10 seconds. don’t hassle just because this particular recipe doesn’t meet your requirements
Nice cake too Clair well done
Hi Rebecca
Thanks for your support – glad you love the recipe
Cheers
Clair
me and my friend are making the cake write now.. NOT HAPPY JAN.. its meant to be a mud cake isnt it.. well its more like a cofee cake because thats all we can taste.. YUKKKK.. maybe you should consider changing the name to COFEE CAKEEE!!
Hi Claudia
Sorry if this recipe didn’t turn out the way you wanted. Just to check, it is one cup of coffee, long black strength (so 1 tsp of instant coffee in 1 cup just boiling water).
When I have made this in the past, the coffee adds depth of flavour to the finished cake, but doesn’t overpower the final result, so I wonder if maybe you have added too much coffee?
Cheers
Clair
i found this chocolate cake amazingly easy and delicious AND all my friends love it!
Hi Sarah
Glad you like it! I have made the cake too many times to count, and still love it
Great warm with ice cream as well (especially now winter is coming).
Cheers
Clair
Thank you for your recipe – it was a quick and easy cake to make when you only have basic ingredients in the pantry. But I have to say, I was intrigued that such a simple recipe could produce a “mud” cake with out using real chocolate. After trying the finished product (which I followed exactly), it definitely isn’t a mud cake. If it weren’t for the icing, it would be quite dry and have that ordinary chocolate cake texture. I ended up slicing it in half and putting icing in the middle as well so when you bite into it, you don’t get to much “dry cake” texture in your mouth. A mud cake is much more dense, fudge-like and decadent.
It’s a lovely cake, but I think you should rename it “Easy Chocolate Cake Recipe” an ditch the “rich, moist, mud” part.
Thanks for sharing it.
Hi MissLouLou
Thanks for your comments, always appreciate feedback! I do find that the cake is a bit more decadent and ‘mud cake like’ when you put cream or the ganache in the middle, and then ice it with plenty of ganache. I actually prefer the texture and taste of the cake to other shop bought/commercially produced mud cakes, as I find these can be quite gluggy.
Thanks
Clair
I just made this cake it was nice. I do agree that it wasnt sweet enough and not quite like a mud cake. I think the comment from clair that it is quite a special cake even for wedding cakes is a bit over the top for this simple recipe. I would like to know how i can alter this recipe to make it a bit more rich in chocolate and sweeter in flavour.
It was nice and simple with a good result though. thanks
Hi emz
Thanks for your feedback. The cake itself is not an overly sweet cake, however the ganache and any other decoration provides added sweetness (which for me is enough), but I can understand why some people would prefer sweeter. If you do prefer it sweeter, you could add another 1/2 – 3/4 cup of sugar, on top of the original recipe.
I have said that it would be suitable for a wedding cake, but I would only suggest this if you were planning a more informal wedding. The recipe can be multiplied to create layers, and decorated with white fondant icing, or be made into cupcakes and put onto a tiered cup cake stand (I have done this for a friends baby shower).
Thanks again!
Cheers
Clair
re. caffeine. Concerned about the caffeine content? Best not be putting the cocoa in either.
how bout ya’ll just leave the coffee out if you don’t want it? LOL.
good post natalie!
no but seriously, thanks for an awesome recipe, It’s really yum! I served mine with chopped fresh strawberries and it was delicious
cheers.
I just made this – love a cake recipe without actual chocolate as the only time I get a craving for choc cake is when I don’t have any choc in the cupboard. I never have cow’s milk either so I used natural yoghurt instead of the sour milk and it still worked fine. After tasting the batter I added an extra 1/4 cup sugar but without icing, the cake wasn’t quite sweet enough for my tastes (but maybe you like it like that which is fine). So I might add even more sugar next time or leave out the coffee (obviously replace liquid with something else).
As far as moistness goes, I wouldn’t say it wasn’t that much different to other “normal” cakes I’ve made. I wouldn’t call what I ended up with a “mud” cake. It rose pretty high (mountains in the middle) and doesn’t look flat like yours in the pic. Maybe that yoghurt wasn’t “wet” enough for an exact substitute, what do you reckon?
I want to try this cake but i wanted to make it higher in size…could i double the measurements and cook it a bit slower….would it still work out or should i cook two layers and sandwhich them together?
Hi Brenda
You could double the measurements and then cook the cake a little slower (I have doubled the recipe and baked in a 50cm square tin a few times), probably at around 160ºC, but bear in mind that doubling the recipe will probably affect the even rising of the cake (the top might be a little wonky). To try and prevent uneven rising, you can rotate the cake evenly every 15 minutes or so until cooked. If that doesn’t work, you can always use a large bread knife to trim the top to make it even, then flip the cake over and ice (so the smooth bottom becomes the top of the cake).
I think your suggestion of making two cakes and sandwiching them together (with extra icing or whipped cream) would give a better result though.
Hope this helps.
Cheers
Clair
I have just tried this recipe I thought 1 cup of coffee was excessive too, so I put 2 heaped spoons in 250mls of boiling water & added it. I also added Baileys Irish cream & the cake has turned out awesome. I think its not a everyday cake like stated by Genah so go a little crazy with it but there is so many choc cake recipes out there theres no need to make it if you dont like it just google childfriendly cake recipes and keep this one for when your having a tea party or whatever. Thanks for a great recipe
Hi Jade
Glad you love the recipe, the Bailey’s addition sounds great!
Just for your ref, 1 cup (metric) is 250ml… when I make this recipe I usually use 1 heaped tsp of good quality coffee granules in 250ml hot water.
It is definitely not an everyday cake (I make it for special occasions like birthdays etc), so you can go a little over the top with it!
Cheers
Clair
Alicat I think you’re just blowing it all out of proportion, dont make the cake if you think it has too much caffeine ok? Or use your stupid substitutes for coffee that sound gross… You’re just making an unnecessary fuss! The purpose of putting coffee in chocolate cakes is that it brings out the chocolate flavour even more, i dont think your herbal tea will do a good job, though you can put it in your cake and see who eats it! Youre talking like this cake will be made everyday and eaten everyday by kids, you sound old and boring…
Hi Genah
I agree with your sentiment, however I think Alicat was probably just concerned about the level of caffeine for her kids. I would like to try and keep the site friendly for everyone, so please try to bear that in mind when posting comments. Although please keep posting, I do like to hear from visitors!
Cheers
Clair
Coffee substitutes:
Decaffeinated coffee is still coffee.
It can still create coffee addiction, and many brands have residual chemicals.
Better to try something not coffee based.
How about an alternative like dandelion tea, Ecco, nature’s cuppa, or *insert name of local brand* herbal alternative? (Similar flavour, but better for you. Dandelion for example cleanses the liver, but not good if you have a gall bladder issue. Mind you, choc cake is not good if you have a gall bladder issue either! LOL! sigh.)
You could also try Horlicks, a malt drink. (For a sweeter flavour)
Hi Ali
Thanks for your comments. You could try any of the alternatives you suggest, however it will alter the taste slightly. This recipe makes approximately 10-12 servings, so the amount of coffee in each serving is quite small (and given that many parents give their kids cola and other caffeinated drinks, I think that one small piece of cake probably wouldn’t hurt them!).
Cheers
Clair
1 cup of coffee….mmmm….
Kid friendly?
no.
It’s not a cup of instant coffee dry…. Its one cup of made up coffee – As is one teaspoon of coffee and water. One teaspoon of coffee distributed in an entire cake is not much. Most mud cake recipes have coffee and you can use a caffeine free alternate. Or you can just leave it out if you want.
Hi Sarah
Thanks for your comment. Absolutely, 1 tsp of coffee is not much in a cake that yields approx 10-12 servings. I do think that the coffee adds another dimension to the cake (not the strong flavour of coffee, but it does add that layer of richness that mud cakes need).
Cheers
Clair