Eylene's Chocolate Mud cake

While Eylene was living in Nieu Zealand, we stayed in contact through the internet and many long phone calls. The distance between us being literally halfway around the globe felt immense and I often had an incredible longing to be able to just give her a hug.

       What gave unexpected comfort, was sharing recipes. We both enjoy cooking and baking and she would often ask for a family recipe to counter the attacks of loneliness. There's nothing as soothing as the familiar fragrance of a leg of lamb with rosemary and garlic roasting in your foreign kitchen, she would say.

       She sent me this recipe of a Chocolate mud cake. It is totally decadent and incredibly rich, so it goes a long way in small portions, but if you need a little extra loving care from yourself, this is it. 

        I baked it recently for my friend Ralie's birthday tea. I decorated it with fresh jasmine blossoms and tiny violets from my garden and filled the centre with luscious strawberries.

        I was again reminded of how close I felt to my faraway daughter when I tried it the first time, reading the recipe in her mixed use of Afrikaans and English. This will always be Eylene's mud cake for me. 

Eylene's Chocolate Mud Cake

"250g Botter / bak margerine - cubed

200g Dark chocolate - broken into pieces

2 Cups of sugar

1 1/3 cup hot water

1/2 tsp Vanilla essence

1 Cup each: flour & self raising flour

1/4 Cup Cocoa

3 eggs lightly beaten

Ganache

200g Dark Chocolate

200ml Cream

1.) Preheat oven to 160 C & line 22cm round baking pan with baking paper & spray

2.) Place butter, chocolate, sugar & water in sauce pan and stir over low heat for 3-4 min until the sugar has dissolved. Stir in Vanilla & leave to cool.

3.) Sift the flour & cocoa into mixing bowl & make a well in the centre.

4.) Pour in cooled liquid & mix with whisk until well mix.

5.) Mix in the eggs last

6.) Pour into pan & bake for 1 1/4 hours / until skewer comes out clean. Cover cake with clean towel & leave to cool in pan.

Ganache:

1.) Heat cream until just before boiling point.

2.) Pour cream over chocolate cubes & mix until combined, leave to cool until spreadable. (Ekt sommer in dieselfde pot gedoen)

En dan as mens dit oor die koek gesmeer het is mens klaar!!!

Dis rerig lekker!

Love mamma ***"

P.S I use a ringform pan as the batter is rather heavy and tends to sag in the centre.

Matilda