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.
save this recipe
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
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.
Nutrition Information
Nathalie says
Hey Jessica,
If I use an 8 inch, does it change the bake time or temp?
Thanks!
Jessica Holmes says
Hi! It will be slightly deeper, so it may take a little bit longer to cook.
Bonita says
Hi sweets, just wondering if you have a vanilla mud cake recipe ?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Bonita, I have a white chocolate mud cake and a caramel mud cake you might like!
Renee says
Hi,
This cake looks delicious, can I freeze it ?
Thankyou
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Renee, yes you can!
Celine Jones says
I’m a little confused on the measurement conversions. I measured in grams inside of a measuring cup – for example the recipe calls for 2 cups of sugar, but in grams it only filled 1.5 cups. Which measurements are correct?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Celine, always go by the gram measurements if you can. Cup measurements can vary greatly depending on the size of your cups, the ingredients used and how you measure it.
Simona Rodrigues says
Can I make this in a rainbow cake
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Simona, if you want to dye a cake rainbow colours, you’d be better off making a vanilla cake rather than a chocolate one.
Brianna says
Made this for my son’s birthday, it was delicious!! Thanks for the recipe
Jessica Holmes says
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed it!
Astrid says
This recipe looks great! Can I use milk chocolate in the cake batter (and maybe some cocoa powder) for a less rich cake?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi, I recommend using dark chocolate (at least 45% cocoa) as per the recipe as milk chocolate will make it much more sweet.
Shabnam says
Hi Jessica should I use an 8″ or 9″ pan for this?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi, the recipe calls for a 9 inch cake pan.
Sky says
Hi! This recipe looks really good. I’m making this the day before my little sister’s birthday. Do you suggest that I should refrigerate it after it cools down or should I leave it outside?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Sky, it’s really up to you. I usually store my cakes at room temperature until I frost them.
shreya says
any replacement for eggs??
Jessica Holmes says
I haven’t tested the recipe without eggs, I’m sorry.
:) says
It was so so so good!!!! I just halfed both the sugars and it still tasted amazing!!!!!!
Thank you so much for this recipe, I will definitely make this again and I would highly recommend to anyone!!!!!
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it!
Gayle says
Followed the recipe to the ‘T’. The icing was delicious and so was the cake but half the cake spilled over during baking and then collapsed in the center. I bake a lot and had filled only have the baking tin. I wish the recipe used baking powder instead of baking soda. I’m sure it would’ve come out better if I used the substitute. Thanks however for the recipe. Made the cake for Mother’s Day. Turned out nice after all.
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Gayle, sorry to hear that. I’m not sure what happened but it doesn’t sound right that the cake spilled over or collapsed. It should bake like a regular cake. 1/2 teaspoon is a very small amount of baking soda so that wouldn’t be a problem.
Joseph Snow says
Hi ! I doubled the recipe so I could have a bigger cake. I put some batter in a 9″ inch pan. The other in a 9″ spring form. The 9″ pan cooked in about 55 minutes. The springform pan was still gooey fudge, wobbly canner after 1 hour , 15 minutes. I finally just took it out. What did I do wrong with the springform pan ?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Joseph, I’m unsure why there was a difference in baking time between your two pans. It could come down to a variety of factors such as, the position of each cake in the oven or the metal/material of each cake pan. Hope you enjoyed the cake!
Annette says
I do a lot of baking, and I believe this is the best chocolate cake I have ever tasted!! SO easy to make, and SO easy to eat 🙂
I made it to bring as “snack” when going hiking, so I made sure it was not soft inside (think I baked it for 55-60 minutes). Next time I will bake it for the recommended 50 minutes and see how that turns out.
Greetings from Norway
Jessica Holmes says
Aww so pleased you enjoyed it Annette! Sounds like the perfect hiking snack to me.
Zemba says
Wow looks like a great receipe. What brown chocolate would you recommend I use ? Am just learning how to bake .
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Zemba, I just use a good quality block of dark or milk chocolate. Hope you love it!
Adelaide says
Can I double the mixture to make two layers? Can’t wait to try it out:)
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Adelaide, I haven’t tried myself but let me know how you go.