FoodPoint

4.07 Golden Syrup Mudcake – Intermediate – Baking & Desserts

This recipe was inspired by a request from my friend Kate, who loves pretty much every type of baked good (aside from things like quiche, which she complains is “too eggy”).

She wanted something decadent using any combination of cake, chocolate and caramel. Keeping in mind that this recipe is meant to be something she can replicate on her own, I did the best I could to bring together all the elements she wanted into something that's fairly simple.

I have noticed that people living in countries outside of UK and Australia aren’t very familiar with golden syrup. This syrup is made by boiling down sugar cane juice until it turns thick and… well… golden. I think if you’re looking for an alternative, you could probably substitute brown rice syrup or dark corn syrup – and maybe even honey – but don’t quote me on that as I haven’t tested it! Something like maple syrup is probably too thin and would make the batter too runny.

It’s worth noting that while I’ve called this a mudcake, it’s not quite as dense as most mudcakes seem to be. Although, it is quite rich!

PART A – GOLDEN SYRUP MUDCAKE

Ingredients:

2 cups self-raising flour

1 ½ cups light brown sugar

½ cup golden syrup

½ cup milk

200g unsalted butter, softened

4 eggs, at room temperature

1 tsp vanilla essence/extract/paste

½ tbsp pink salt flakes

All of these ingredients are fairly standard for baking, except possibly the pink salt flakes. Half a tablespoon of salt might seem like quite a lot for a dessert – indeed, it’s probably quite a lot for a savoury dish! – but it cuts through the sweetness a bit. Think of salted caramel, it’s similar. Also, pink salt isn’t quite so “salty” as regular salt as it contains a number of other minerals. If you can’t find this, just use 1 tsp of regular salt instead.

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 170°C (340°F) and line the bottom and sides of a 20cm cake tin with baking paper. (TIP: Use a tin with high sides, and line with baking paper even higher. This cake has a long bake time when this recipe is followed exactly and the high paper sides can provide some protection to stop the top from browning too much. Also, you’ll want the high sides for when you add the topping to the cake!)

2. Place the milk and syrup into a saucepan over medium-low heat and stir together until the syrup has dissolved into the milk. (TIP: Do not let it come to a boil as the milk could split and you have to start again – learned THAT the hard way!)

3. Remove the milk and syrup from the heat and place aside to cool for approx. 5 minutes.

4. Place the butter, sugar, vanilla and salt flakes into a large mixing bowl and beat together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.

5. Add in 1 egg and beat until incorporated.

6. Sift in ½ cup of flour and beat until incorporated.

7. Repeat Steps 5 and 6 until all eggs and flour are incorporated.

8. Pour in the cooled milk and syrup mixture and beat until smooth and velvety.

9. Pour the mixture into the lined cake tin and bake it for 65-75 minutes, or until a skewer can be inserted and removed clean. (Yes, this is a long bake! This is because it’s all in a single tin. If you want to use this cake for something other than what I’ve done with it, then you can split it between 2-3 tins instead and bake for 20-40 minutes instead.)

10. Remove the cake from the oven and place aside to start on Part B of the recipe while it’s still hot.

PART B – CHOCOLATE GANACHE TOPPING

Ingredients:

300ml pure/single cream

300g dark chocolate

2 tbsp golden syrup

This is just a basic chocolate ganache which I’ve made in previous videos, however this time I’ve added golden syrup too. I’ve done this for two reasons:- (1) it adds to the golden syrup flavour of the cake, and; (2) it makes the ganache nice and shiny, which looks good!

Keep in mind that you don’t have to do this part if you don’t want to. You have a perfectly good cake from Part A that you can use in whatever way you choose. But hopefully you’ll give this a try because it’s such a small amount of effort!

Method:

1. Place the chocolate and syrup into a jug.

2. Warm the cream in a saucepan over-medium high heat until it just starts to bubble slightly.

3. Pour the warm cream over the chocolate and syrup, allow it to sit for a minute to soften the chocolate, then mix together until everything is melted together and smooth.

4. Use a thick skewer to poke lots of holes in the top of the warm cake. (You can just pierce the surface if you like, but feel free to poke the skewer all the way down to the bottom of the cake.)

5. Pour the warm ganache over the warm cake and leave to soak overnight. (You can leave it for just a couple of hours if you can’t wait, but I would STRONGLY suggest that you leave it overnight.)

6. If the ganache is firm, move on to Step 7. Otherwise, place the cake into the fridge until the ganache is firm before moving on to Step 7.

7. Remove the cake from the tin and unwrap the baking paper.

8. Decorate as desired, then serve with some whipped cream or icecream and maybe some fresh berries. (I simply added a few more sprinkles of pink salt flakes to decorate, but that’s probably not to everyone’s taste.)

Serves 1-12 (being realistic!)

A video of this recipe is also available at - https://youtu.be/FfMVPDKe-Jg.

If you have a recipe to request, it's not too late! Please send me an email and I'll see what I can do.