Mud cake is a type of chocolate cake with a color like the mud, which is also often known as mud pie or Mississippi mud cake and it can be baked in a variety of ways. There is no standard mud cake recipe available and the ingredients differ considerably as well with chocolate forming the basis of the mud cake.
The size and the shape of a mud cake varies as well with the mud cake recipe being consulted on the occasion of a birthday, holiday or even while making cupcakes. Wedding cakes can also be baked according to the mud cake recipe. However, the texture of the mud cake needs to be denser in order to support multi tiers, heavy icing and extensive decorations that are the main features of a wedding cake.
History Of The Mud Cake Recipe
The mud cake is believed to have originated in the Southern part of the United States near the Mississippi River. The name for the cake was coined when it was found to resemble the color of the mud along the river banks. It was first baked in 1970 and is believed to have evolved from the brownie. The fudge is yet another mud colored chocolate food item which bears similarity to the mud cake.
The original 1970 cakes used marshmallows for decoration but the recipe of the cake that has been popularized in Australia is bereft of marshmallows totally.
Ingredients And Popular Mud Cake Recipe
The most basic recipe for the mud cake makes use of the traditional ingredients used for baking a chocolate cake. Eggs, flour, sugar and vanilla along with chocolate powder or baking chocolate go into the cake which can be prepared in a diverse manner. Every cookbook and online food sites have their own variation of the mud cake as there is no strict regulation to adhere to.
The dark chocolate cake is usually decorated with dark chocolate icing as well. The moist and crumbly kind of cake is not firm enough to retain its shape for long. The mud cake is therefore baked in the form of a sheet cake or prepared in a bundt pan. The ability to take on the shape of the container makes the cake a strong favorite during birthdays when it can be baked in the form of a cartoon character.
Variations Of Mud Cake
Since there are no standard recipes for the mud cake, the recipes often divert from the basic one. Customized versions are baked according to taste with nuts like pecans and almonds being added to the cake as well. Fruits and coffee particularly the mocha flavor go well with the cake too and it is often served with a topping of raspberry or warm fudge sauce along with a scoop of ice cream. Chocolate cookies crumbled on the surface of the cake make it look like dirt while a dusting of powdered sugar on the top makes an interesting contrast.
Nutritional Value Of Mud Cakes
The mud cakes are high in calories and carbohydrate content due to the sweeteners and butter used. There is almost no protein or dietary fibers available from the cake which can prove to be very unhealthy if consumed in excess.
Mud Cake: Trivia
Mud Cake decorated with gummi worms is popular during Halloween.