This is the BEST Chocolate Mud Cake recipe. Perfectly moist with plenty of chocolate flavour, it’s a super easy cake to make and the milk chocolate frosting just puts it over-the-top.
Fudgy-licious cake right here 👆🏻
If you’re on the hunt for a deliciously rich chocolate mud cake with a fudgy chocolate-laden centre and a creamy milk chocolate frosting, I’ve got you covered.
This is the chocolate cake of your dreams.
I love chocolate cake. ❤️ And this year has been the year of chocolate cake for me. First I shared with you my recipe for a deliciously easy Dairy Free Chocolate Cake. Next came my all-time favourite Flourless Chocolate Cake.
Just last month, I shared with you my Chocolate Buttermilk Cake and now we’re moving on to deliciously rich Chocolate Mud Cake.
It took quite a bit of testing to get this cake just right, but I’m so happy with the result. This cake has just the right amount of cake and just the right amount of fudge. While I love a soft and fluffy chocolate cake, I wanted this one to be different.
I wanted a crumb that sticks to your fork. I wanted a cake that had almost a brownie-like texture in parts, but I didn’t want a brownie and I didn’t want a regular chocolate cake. I wanted something special. And I found it.
With real dark chocolate and cocoa powder in the cake batter, this cake is laden with chocolate flavour. To complement the rich fudgy centre, I added a smooth and creamy milk chocolate frosting made with real chocolate.
If you have a choco-holic in your family, you need to try this cake. Not only is it delicious, but it’s very easy to make. The cake comes together with a bowl and spoon – you don’t even need an electric mixer.
My only advice for that perfectly dense and fudgy centre is to make sure you don’t overcook the cake. The more it cooks, the less fudgy it will become. My Chocolate Mud Cake takes about 55 minutes to 1 hour to cook, but I recommend checking your cake from about 50 minutes onwards.
Every oven is different, so it’s important to work out what timing works before for you. If you make this cake, please take a photo and show me on Instagram! I think I’ll go have another slice right now x
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Hungry for more? Join me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter for more amazing recipe ideas.
Let's Bake
Chocolate Mud Cake with Milk Chocolate Frosting
Deliciously fudgy chocolate mud cake topped with milk chocolate frosting.
Ingredients
Chocolate mud cake
- 230 grams (1 cup / 2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 200 grams (1 and 1/3 cup) good quality dark chocolate (45-70% cocoa)
- 300 grams (2 cups) caster sugar or granulated sugar
- 45 grams (1/4 cup) brown sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 40 grams (1/2 cup) cocoa powder, sifted
- 210 grams (1 and 1/2 cups) plain flour or all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) whole or full fat milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Milk chocolate frosting
- 115 grams (1/2 cup / 1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 250 grams (2 cups) icing sugar or powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder, sifted
- 100 grams (2/3 cup) milk chocolate, broken into pieces
- 2 tablespoons full fat or whole milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 170 C (340 F) standard / 150 C (300 F) fan-forced. Grease and line a 9-inch round springform cake tin with baking or parchment paper.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, add butter and dark chocolate. Melt in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds, until smooth. Leave to cool slightly – just a minute or two.
- Add sugars to chocolate mixture and stir. Add eggs. Mix to combine. Add cocoa powder, flour, baking soda and salt and mix gently. Add milk and vanilla. Stir until chocolate batter is combined and smooth. It will be quite thick – this is ok.
- Pour cake batter into prepared cake tin. Bake for approximately 50-60 minutes or until cake no longer wobbles in the middle. Try not to over bake as you want the cake to be moist in the middle. Leave to cool completely in the cake tin.
- To make the frosting, place butter in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until pale and creamy. Meanwhile melt the chocolate in a microwave, stirring in between 20 second bursts, until just melted and set aside.
- Add half the sugar, cocoa powder and one tablespoon of milk and beat until combined. Add the remaining sugar and beat until smooth.
- Add melted chocolate, ensuring the chocolate is still smooth and melted but is not warm. Beat until the chocolate is completely mixed through. If frosting is too thick, add an extra tablespoon of milk. Generously frost the top of the cake using a spatula.
Notes
This cake is quite possibly even nicer the day after it’s made as it tends to go even fudgy-ier.
Erin says
So delicious! I’ve been having trouble with my scratch cakes since moving to a high altitude area (4,700 ft), but this baked up perfectly with no adjustments on my part. The texture and flavor are spot on. Thank you so much! This will be my go to chocolate cake from now on.
Jessica Holmes says
Aww I’m so glad to hear that Erin! Thank you so much for your lovely feedback!
Lois says
How would you adjust time or temp for a smaller pan? Eg 7.5inch
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Lois, I would adjust the time – it’ll take longer as the batter will be deeper. I’d just start checking it every 5 mins from the 40 minute mark. If it starts to get too brown or develop a crust, I would add a sheet of aluminium foil over the top. Hope you enjoy it!
Michelle says
The flavor of this cake is scrumptious!! The issue I had was by the time the center wasn’t runny about 1 inch of the edge of the cake was over baked and dry.
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Michelle, glad you liked the cake! I think you may have overcooked the cake slightly if the edges were dry. The middle is quite soft and moist even when baked and will firm up as it cools. So I would recommend baking it for less time or on a slightly lower temperature next time. Alternatively, it may have been because the edges continue to cook as the cake cools if it stays in the hot cake tin. So you could try using a springform pan so you can remove the edge of the pan after baking. Hope that helps!
Sabi says
Awesome…made baked it and served it for desert and everyone loved it..
#thanks
Jessica Holmes says
So glad to hear that Sabi! Thanks for trying one of my recipes! ☺️
Swetz says
Hi, can we replace the brown sugar with regular caster sugar?
Jessica Holmes says
Yes that should be ok but it may alter the results slightly! Brown sugar adds flavour and moisture to cakes.
Michelle says
Absolutely delicious! Used Easter eggs instead of dark chocolate but worked and tasted divine!
Jessica Holmes says
Amazing!! So glad to hear that Michelle!! 🙌🏻
Meredith says
Made this for a birthday dinner last night. It’s delicious, but I couldn’t get it to set in the middle. I baked it over 1 hour and 20 minutes and it still sunk in the middle as it cooled. Not sure what went wrong.
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Meredith! I’m so glad you thought the cake was delicious but I’m sorry it sunk in the middle. It is supposed to have a very fudgy centre so a little bit of sinking is normal. Otherwise cakes can sink for a variety of reasons, e.g if you opened the oven door before the cake was ready, used a different sized pan or didn’t measure the ingredients correctly. If you’d like to troubleshoot, feel free to email me at hello@sweetestmenu.com and we can chat more! ☺️
Jill Brown says
This is the cake recipe I have been looking for! It is simply amazing. I didn’t wait for the cake to cool down, so the frosting was a little Meltie but that made it even better!
I need to invite the neighbors over so I don’t eat it all.
Jessica Holmes says
Aww I’m so glad you enjoyed it Jill! It’s one of my fave cakes and the thought of having it warm sounds divine! ☺️
Courtney Thatcher says
Do I need to change my temperature I have a gas oven and I followed all your instructions and the cake was soggy in the middle
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Courtney, sorry to hear that. I bake and test all my recipes using an electric oven so I can’t confirm the results from a gas oven. That being said, gas ovens tend to offer a more humid environment (and every oven is different) so it could be the case that your cake needed a little longer in the oven. This recipe should produce a moist cake, particularly in the centre, (as per the photo) but it shouldn’t be wet. A skewer inserted in the centre of the cake should still come out clean once cooked. I hope that helps!
Steph says
What size tin did you use?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Steph, I used a 9 inch springform cake tin.
Allyson Gil says
Can you double this recipe to make larger cakes? I want to make a 9X13 size
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Allyson, I haven’t tried doubling this recipe myself so I can’t say for sure!
Anna says
Thank you for the amazing recipe!!! I do have one question 🙂 is it better to store the cake in the fridge or can I store it out on the counter?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Anna! It’s fine to store the cake on the counter in a cool climate, especially if you haven’t frosted the cake. Otherwise, you could store it in the fridge but bring it to room temperature before serving. I hope you enjoy it! x
Anna says
Got it! Thank you very much! I’m pretty sure the cake will be gone by tomorrow judging by the looks of it!!! 😝
Jessica Holmes says
Amazing! I’m so excited for you! ☺️
Janet says
I baked the cake yesterday, sunk a bit in the middle but am hopefully it is the perfect amount of gooey! Making the frosting this morning, I don’t see where you incorporate the tablespoon of cocoa to the frosting, assume with the sugar?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Janet! Wonderful, I’m sure you will love the cake. It may have sunk a little in the middle if it was slightly under baked but sometimes that just mean a more fudgy centre! 😉 Yes sorry, add the cocoa with the sugar! I’d love to see a photo when you’re done – tag me on Instagram #sweetestmenu
Natalie says
WOW this cake looks so chocolatey and delicious! I love the luscious cream topping!
Jessica Holmes says
Thanks Natalie!
Josh says
This cake was delicious!
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it Josh!