AUSTRALIA - Classic cakes - Mud cakes

A popular celebration cake in Australia is the Mud cake - a dense cake in dark or white chocolate, or caramel. Here's the recipe for a white chocolate version.

Take a deep breath for that candle!!

White chocolate Mud cake

Serves 12

250g butter, chopped coarsely
150g white chocolate, chopped coarsely
2 cups (440g) caster sugar
1 cup (250ml) milk
1 1/2 cups (225g) plain flour
1/2 cup (75g) SR flour
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
2 eggs lightly beaten

White chocolate ganache
1/2 cup (125ml) cream
300g white chocolate, chopped coarsely

1. Preheat oven to moderately slow. Grease deep 20cm round cake pan, line base and side with baking paper.
2. Combine butter, chocolate, sugar and milk in a saucepan; using wooden spoon over a low heat, without boiling until smooth. Transfer mixture to a bowl and cool for 15 mins.
3. Whisk in flours then essence and egg, pour mixture into prepared pan.
4. Bake cake in moderately slow oven for 1 hour. Cover  pan loosely with foil; bake about 1 hour. Discard foil, stand cake in pan for 10 mins then turn onto a wire rack, turn upside down to cool.
5. To make ganache - Bring cream to boil in a small saucepan. Pour over chocolate in small bowl, stir with wooden spoon until chocolate melts. Cover bowl and refrigerate, stirring occasionally, for about 3o mins or until ganache is of a spreadable consistency.
5. Place cake on serving plate, spread all over with chocolate ganache