Mistakes Everyone Makes With Mud Cakes

One bite of mud cake and you're instantly catapulted to chocolate nirvana. Mud cake isn't light and airy like regular cake; it's more like a commingling of dense fudge, rich brownies, and "flourless chocolate cake" (via The First Year Blog). And it melts in your mouth like butter. That is, as long as it's made correctly.

There are some common missteps most people make when crafting mud cake, and the results can be pretty dire – from cakes that are runny and undercooked, to those that are lumpy, holey, or shaped like a crater. The good news is all these blunders are avoidable.

According to Cake Stations, the number one cause of cake flops is incorrect oven temperature. The oven should be heated precisely, and to be doubly sure your oven temp is accurate, use an oven thermometer (via Chatelaine).

Another common gaffe involves measuring, especially when it comes to the flour. The Spruce Eats explains that when flour is listed in cups, not by weight, your measurement can be off by as much as 30 percent. Flour-heavy batter creates cakes that are dry and crumbly, not moist and fudgy. To avoid this, weigh out 130 grams of flour for every cup in the recipe.

To ensure mud cake perfection, AKA a dense treat devoid of a crumbly crust, Learn Cake Decorating Online asserts that the cake needs to cook slowly over a long period of time. In addition, wrapping the cake pan with foil that's been stuffed with three layers of damp paper towels will keep the sides moist, and tenting the surface with another piece of foil will prevent a domed, cracked top.

Baking at Home adds that it's imperative to follow the recipe exactly. Underbaking, overbaking, improperly mixing, and fiddling with the ingredients (for example, adding more liquid to ensure a moist cake) can result in lumps, tunnels, burned edges, and a sunken middle. Not the goal when you're craving a firm, fudgy dessert.

When the cake is finished baking, patience is key. Don't expect to dive right in. Sweetness and Bite recommends cooling the mud cake completely (as in overnight) before attempting to remove it from the pan. Once the pan is cool to the touch, wrap it in foil and say goodnight.

With your new-found mud cake prowess, it's time to start baking. For recipe inspiration, check out Sweetest Menu's chocolate-laden mud cake adorned with creamy milk chocolate frosting. Bake Play Smile's freezer-friendly, layered mud cake is scented with coffee and brimming with fudgy icing. Head over to Taste of Home and you'll find a layer of marshmallow cream nestled between the mud cake and rich chocolate frosting.