Seeking Victory: Caramel Mudcake with Dark Chocolate Ganache {Recipe}

So I made this:

It was not at all as hard as I thought it was going to be so I had to tell you about it. I generally am not into cooking with lots of ingredients and multiple steps. I have lost baking confidence as a result of 12 months in a share house without a working oven followed by 2 years in a teeny tiny flat with an even teeny tinier kitchen and a crappy oven right next to my fridge, which resulted in the fridge heating up and developing a large ice tumour due to stress. It was quite a thing. Anyway, I now have a lovely big kitchen with a fully functional (and rather nice) oven so it is time to jump back on the horse. Plus, I wanted to make a Belated Bookworm Birthday cake so that called for something a bit special.
And for those interested in the fridge's welfare, the tumour resolved itself once the oven-stress had been removed. Proof that stress is bad for your health.

Back to cake.

I used this recipe from Taste.com but don't be put off by the fact that it says that it is for capable cooks, it was actually very simple. I modified a few things so I will put the recipe here as well.

First things first, grease and line your tin with baking paper, I always forget this step until I have poured the cake mix into the ungreased tin, then have to scoop it out, wash the tin and then grease and line.....is this just me?

The recipe calls for a 22cm cake tin, I only have a 20cm one so I just needed to cook it a little longer to account for the depth of the cake.

For the cake:
200g butter, cubed (I used lightly salted butter)
200g white chocolate (melts are great for this kind of thing)
200g (1cup, packed firmly) dark brown sugar- make sure you get the dark for extra caramelly flavour)
180ml (3/4 cup) hot water
1 Tbsp maple syrup (the original calls for golden syrup but I didn't want to buy a bottle for 1 cake whereas I have maple on high rotation)
2 tspn vanilla essence
2 eggs at room temperature (the room temp bit is important because you are adding them to a warm mixture, it's chemistry folks)
150g (1 cup) plain flour
150g (1 cup) self-raising flour

For the toffee:
1 cup caster sugar
1/3 cup water

For the ganache:
300g bag of dark chocolate melts
1/2 cup cream (or slightly less if you want a thicker ganache)

So first of all make sure you have greased and lined that tin.

Pop your butter, white chocolate, sugar, water, syrup and vanilla essence in a heavy-based saucepan and warm over low heat until the butter and chocolate have melted and it is smooth, this doesn't take long. Then set aside to cool for at least 20 minutes.

Now you can get the toffee started. Pop the sugar and water in a smaller saucepan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved, then turn up the heat until your toffee is simmering away and just leave it be. You will need to brush down the sides with a pastry brush dipped in water to dissolve the crystallised sugar from time to time and give the pan and swirl to make sure it is heating evenly. Keep an eye on it and wait for it to change to a light golden colour, It will need to simmer for quite a while so be patient about it.

At this point preheat your oven to 160C

Make sure your cake mixture is not too hot, you don't want to scramble your eggs, then add the eggs one at a time beating well in between (I used a whisk). No need to wash another bowl, just finish off the cake in your saucepan.

Sift the combined flour into your mix and then stir well with a wooden spoon until the mixture is smooth, pour into your prepared pan and cook for 50-60 minutes (or about 70 minutes if using a 20cm pan).

Right about now your toffee should be ready. To check, fill a small bowl with cold water and drip a bit of toffee into it, you will hear a crack and it will make small hard toffee pearls when it is done.

Turn off the heat and allow the toffee to stop bubbling and cool slightly.

Line a tray with baking paper and swirl your toffee about. You can be artistic and make shapes with it or just schlep it like I did. Let it cool.

I love toffee....

Now don't fret about the hard dried toffee in your saucepan, just fill it to the brim with hot water and let it soak and it will all just dissolve away in time.

Sit down with a cuppa and a good book and smell the caramel wafting through your house.

Once your cake is cooked (test it with a skewer through the middle), allow it to cool in the tin for 20 minutes before turning it onto a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the ganache, pop the chocolate and cream into a small saucepan and heat over very low heat, stirring continuously until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth. Avoid stirring it too much at this point if you want it to be glossy. Allow to cool- I popped my ganache in the fridge for bit to get it to thicken to a spreading consistency.

Or, you could just grab a spoon and get stuck in...... No. Think of the cake!

Spread the ganache over your cooled cake, again avoid overworking the ganache to keep it looking glossy. Set aside in a cool place, or if you live in Australia, and it is summer, put your cake in the fridge.