Semi Naked Mud Cake with Lemon Elderflower Curd Recipe

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Cakes can be made, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, then stored in the fridge up to one week ahead. Curd can be refrigerated up to five days ahead. Assemble cake up to 12 hours ahead. The flowers you use should not be sprayed with chemicals and should be pesticide-free.

Ingredients

750g unsalted butter, chopped

450g white cooking chocolate,chopped

5 cups caster sugar

3 cups milk

4 1⁄2 cups plain flour

1 1⁄2 cups self-raising flour 6 eggs

Fresh flowers, to decorate

LEMON ELDERFLOWER CURD

4 egg yolks

1∕3 cup caster sugar

2 tblsps elderflower cordial

75g unsalted butter, chopped, at room temperature

BUTTERCREAM

500g unsalted butter, chopped, at room temperature

5 cups icing sugar mixture

2 tblsps milk

3 tsps Wilton White-White

Icing Colour

WHITE CHOCOLATE GANACHE

1 cup White Choc Melts 1⁄4 cup pure cream

Winter white chocolate oil, to tint

Method

Grease two 22cm round cake pans. Line bases and sides with baking paper.
Combine half of each the butter, chocolate, sugar and milk in a large saucepan. Stir over a low heat until chocolate is melted and sugar is dissolved. Transfer to a large bowl. Stand for 30 minutes.
Sift half the combined flours over chocolate mixture. Add half the eggs. Whisk until combined. Divide between prepared pans.
Cook in a moderately slow oven (160C) for about 1 hour, or until cooked when tested. Stand in pans for 30 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack. Cover with a clean tea towel until cold. Repeat with remaining ingredients to make another two cakes.
To make curd, place all ingredients in a large metal bowl sitting over a saucepan of simmering water. Whisk for about 8 minutes, or until slightly thickened. Transfer to a heat-proof jug. Cover surface with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until cold.
To make buttercream, beat butter in a large bowl of an electric mixer until pale. Gradually beat in 1⁄2 cup sugar at a time, until combined. Beat in milk and colour.
Transfer 1 1⁄2 cups buttercream to a bowl. Fold in curd.
Trim tops of cakes to sit at. Place one cake on a cake board. Spread top with 2∕3 of a cup curd mixture, leaving a 1cm border around edge. Top with another cake. Repeat layering with remaining curd mixture and cakes.
Thinly spread remaining buttercream over top and around side of cake, scraping away excess to create the semi-naked look. Refrigerate for 30 minutes until cold.
To make ganache, place chocolate and cream in a heat-proof bowl sitting over a pan of simmering water. Stir until smooth. Remove. Stir in a few drops of chocolate oil.
Spoon ganache into a disposable piping bag. Cut off tip, 2mm from the point. Starting at the edge, pipe ganache around cake, allowing it to drip down the side at intervals. Pipe remaining over the top, spreading to cover. Stand until set.
Decorate with flowers.

Barbara Northwood

Barbara has over 38 years experience in the food industry, loves sharing advice, recipes and know-how on everything food. She’s a passionate gardener and being to grow fresh herbs, lemons and rhubarb and more, gives her great satisfaction.