Top Deck Mud Cake

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 155°C/ 310°F. Grease and line three 6” round cake pans.

MILK MUD CAKE

1. Melt butter, chocolate, water and sugar in a medium saucepan. Allow to cool for 10 mins.
2. In a small bowl, lightly beat eggs and add the sour cream and vanilla.
3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, sift flours and cocoa together. Add egg mixture to the flours. Don’t fully combine.
4. Gradually add the chocolate mixture until combined. Pour into two of the three tins.

WHITE CHOCOLATE MUD CAKE

1. Melt butter, chocolate, water and sugar in a medium saucepan. Allow to cool for 10 mins.
2. In a small bowl, lightly beat eggs and add the sour cream.
3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, sift flours together. Add egg mixture to the flours. Don’t fully combine. Gradually add the chocolate mixture until combined. Pour into tin.
4. Bake all three cake for approx 1 hour 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
5. Cool the cakes in the tins for 1 hour. Remove from the tin and cool completely on a wire rack before decorating.

DARK CHOCOLATE GANACHE

1. Coarsely chop the chocolate and place in a medium to large bowl. Measure the cream into a medium saucepan and place on medium heat. Stirring with a wooden spoon, bring the cream to just before boiling.
2. Pour directly into the chocolate and allow it to sit for 3-4 minutes. Using a whisk, combine the chocolate and cream and stir until it forms a thick liquid. Allow to cool in an airtight container for 2-3 hours.

WHITE CHOCOLATE GANACHE

1. Coarsely chop the chocolate and place in a medium to large bowl. Measure the cream into a medium saucepan and place on medium heat. Stirring with a wooden spoon, bring the cream to just before boiling.
2. Pour directly into the chocolate and allow it to sit for 3-4 minutes. Using a whisk, combine the chocolate and cream and stir until it forms a thick liquid. Allow to cool in an airtight container for 2-3 hours.

BUTTERCREAM

1. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the icing sugar, one cup at a time, until well combined.

ASSEMBLING

1. Cut each cake into two layers. Stack the cakes using the dark chocolate ganache as a filling for the milk chocolate mud cakes on the bottom. Then stack the white chocolate mud cakes on top using the white chocolate ganache as the filling. Chill 15 minutes.
2. Combine half the buttercream with the dark chocolate ganache, and half with the white chocolate ganache. I also added a touch of white food colour to make the white chocolate a little less yellow. This is completely optional.
3. Apply a crumb coat to the bottom milk mud layers using the dark chocolate buttercream mixture. Scrape away the excess.
4. Now apply a crumb coat to the top part of the cake using the white chocolate buttercream. Scrape back until smooth.
5. Using a Wilton 4B piping tip, place equal amounts of dark and white chocolate buttercream into a piping bag. Pipe eight dollops on the top of the cake. Top with fresh strawberries.