Chocolate Fudge Mud Cakes

Chocolate Fudge Mud cake

• 3 x 60g Mars bars
• 150g butter, chopped coarsely
• 150g dark eating chocolate, chopped coarsely
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup plain flour
• 1/4 cup self-raising flour
• 2 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 180 C. Grease 12-hole muffin pan.
2. Chop 2 Mars bars finely; cut remaining bar into 12 slices.
3. Combine butter, chocolate, sugar and the water in medium saucepan; stir over low heat until smooth. Transfer to large bowl; cool 10 minutes. Whisk in sifted flours, then eggs and finely chopped Mars bar.
4. Divide mixture into pan holes. bake about 25 minutes. Meanwhile make chocolate fudge frosting. Spread cakes with frosting, top each with a slice of Mars bar.

Chocolate Fudge Frosting

• 50g dark eating chocolate, chopped coarsely
• 25g butter
• 1 cup icing sugar
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons hot water, approximately

Stir chocolate and butter in heatproof bowl over saucepan of simmering water until smooth (do not allow water to touch base of bowl); stir in sifted icing sugar and cocoa. Stir in enough of the hot water until frosting is spreadable.

Makes 12

Family Chocolate Cake

One saucepan plus one large, heavy baking dish are practically all the equipment needed to put together this easy, yummy chocolate cake.

• 2 cups water
• 3 cups caster sugar
• 250g butter, chopped
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 3 cups self-raising flour
• 4 eggs, beaten lightly

1. Preheat oven to moderate. Grease deep 26.5  cm x 33cm baking dish, line with baking paper.
2. Combine the water, sugar, butter and combined sifted cocoa and soda in medium saucepan; stir over heat, without boiling, until sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 5minutes.Transfer mixture to large bowl, cool to room temperature.
3. Add flour and egg to bowl; beat with electric mixer until mixture is smooth and changed to a paler colour. Pour mixture into prepared dish.
4. Bake for about 50 minutes. Cool. Spread cold cake with fudge frosting.

Fudge Frosting

• 90g butter
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 1 1/2 cups icing sugar mixture
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder

Combine butter, the water and caster sugar in small saucepan; stir over heat, without boiling, until sugar dissolves. Sift icing sugar and cocoa into small bowl then gradually stir in hot butter mixture. Cover; refrigerate about 20 minutes or until frosting thickens. Beat with wooden spoon until spreadable.

Serves 20

Source: The Australian Women's Weekly

Fudge

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 6 teaspoon cocoa (more if you like a darker fudge)
• 6 teaspoon golden syrup
• 1 cup evaporated milk (undiluted)
• 4 teaspoon butter
• pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (any dry fruit will do)

1. Put in deep pan sugar, cocoa , golden syrup, milk and salt. Stir well with wooden spoon and place pan on very small fire. Do not stir before sugar is dissolved, but with the spoon gently move sugar at the bottom of the pan once in a while to prevent burning.
2. When mixture begins to boil, stir, add butter and keep on stirring.
3. Increase flame a little till mixture thickens. When tiny bubbles appear on edge of spoon and at the bottom of pan as you stir, test drops of fudge in a cup of cold water, and if they form soft balls in your fingers, add vanilla and baking powder.
4. Remove pan from fire.After five minutes of cooling beat mixture till it begins to harden. Add walnuts or dried fruits and QUICKLY pour onto greased square tin.
5. When cool, cut into squares.

Makes 12-18 medium sized squares

Tip

After removing from fire, the mixture begins to harden rapidly. Make sure to pour it into the greased pan quickly before it hardens.Then smooth the surface of the mixture.

The cocoa in the recipe can be substituted with Hershey's chocolate syrup.