Caramel Mud Cake

I know that I said that I was cooking each recipe as they come, true to form I have strayed from my plan and skipped six recipes ahead and baked a delicious, not quiet perfectly cooked caramel mud cake for my big sister on her birthday.

My husband and I purchased our home five years ago, a small house on a large block surrounded by palm trees with a beautiful creek in the back yard complete with giant eels, the down side of our wonderful purchase was that our home came with a 30 year old gas oven that cooks unevenly and never bakes a perfect cake. I wait in anticipation for the day that we can afford a brand new oven, my dream oven, fan forced, one that cooks evenly and leaves me feeling warm and fuzzy in side and excited about baking, rather than feeling angst at the sight of my cake as I cut into it, no disappointed sighs, just plain pride of my baking achievements.

True to form my oven failed to please me, my cake wasn't perfect leaving me with a sunken feeling inside, annoyed with myself for not baking the cake at my dads place who lives only 10 minutes up the road and owns a kitchen to die for. My failed mud cake was still devoured by my sisters three teenagers who praised me for my efforts and promised to train even harder the following morning at squad to work off the overload of calories they consumed the night before.

Here is the recipe for the Caramel Mud Cake, WARNING it is rich, delicious and terribly moreish, I can't wait to bake it again in an oven that is more forgiving than my own. I trust that you will enjoy baking this cake, I decorated mine lavishly with chocolate and ferrero rochers but the caramel icing is decoration enough. Happy baking everyone!

INGREDIENTS

250g, butter chopped
1 1/3 cups (200g) white chocolate melts
1 1/4 c9100gups (255g) brown sugar
1/4 cup (60ml) golden syrup
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
300g sour cream
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups, (3--g) plain flour
2/3 cup (100g) self raising flour

CARAMEL ICING

90g butter, chopped
3/4 cup (165g) brown sugar
1/4 cup (60ml) thickened cream
2 1/3 cups (360g) icing sugar, sifted.

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 140oC / 120oC fan forced. Grease and line a deep 22cm round cake pan.

2. Place butter, white chocolate melts, brown sugar, golden syrup and vanilla bean paste in a small saucepan. Stir over low heat until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is smooth and glossy. Remove from the heat; transfer mixture to a large bowl, stir in sour cream and allow to cool slightly.

3. Stir in eggs. Stir in flours. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour and 45 minutes, cover with foil and bake for a further 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out mostly clean.

4. Cool cake in pan

TO MAKE CARAMEL ICING

 Melt butter in a saucepan. Add brown sugar and cream and cook until smooth and golden in colour. Gradually add enough icing to give a spreading consistency. Spread quickly over top and sides of the cake.

Enjoy baking this cake, there is something truly beautiful about the smell of cakes, biscuits and slices baking in your home, it stirs memories of my child hood and baking with my mum, staring into the oven as patty cakes baked and watching them rise, I always thought it to be magic, my favourite part was icing the cakes, mum would make lemon icing, using the bush lemons in our back yard, they were plump with juice. Every time I smell a lemon it evokes memories of my mum squeezing lemon juice into the icing and me stirring it in, quickly dipping my finger into the mixture for a premature taste test.. ahhhh my memories are grand!

Happy baking everyone.