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Are mud cakes too "dense"?

post #1 of 6
8/3/12 at 3:26am
Thread Starter 
I'm located close to the Australia region and I find a lot of people/bakeries are making mud cakes. I'm going to attempt to make a one soon (as I've never even eaten before) and I've been reading over recipes and speaking to some Australian and New Zealand friends who have all described the cake as being 'dense'. Almost like a torte.

I'm wondering if this just a difference in what tastes good and/or a culture of how cakes are baked? I thought one of the objectives was always to bake a not dense cake but light and fluffy? So I'm confused why 'dense' would be a good thing? The mud cake recipes look very yummy and I'm going to try one regardless but I was wondering if anyone had any insight to this? Dense is a good thing (in cakes) now?

Or is the 'dense' in mud cakes different that the bad 'dense' of what happens in cakes sometimes?

Thank you for your help!
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post #2 of 6
8/3/12 at 4:49am
Dense in a mudcake is a good thing - that's the texture it is meant to be - unlike dense in other cakes which are meant to be lighter. It's a little like a Madeira Cake is also a dense cake while a sponge is meant to be light and fluffy.

The flavour in a good mudcake is divine - really rich so a little is all you need.

Good luck with your baking icon_smile.gif
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post #3 of 6
8/3/12 at 4:56am
The mud cakes I've baked do tend to be 'dense'. I also noticed that my Australian cake decorating/baking books use the mud cakes. I figured maybe it's preferred over there because of the weather or maybe its a good choice with heavily decorated/carved cakes - don't know. So I gave it a try (several times), especially that I live in the Middle East and it can get quite hot/humid over here. I did not receive positive feedback and I stopped baking them. They find the taste 'heavy' and prefer butter cakes (and even with these I get comments sometimes because they're used to the light 'sponge' feel - so I have to explain that I can't use the lighter sponge if the cakes are carved, etc.) They've gotten used to the butter cakes now - mind you, I'm don't bake/decorate for business.. Feedback from friends/family. I personally find the mud cakes rich and dense but then I like that feel with chocolate cakes... however, I can't go past a couple of bites.
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post #4 of 6
8/3/12 at 5:10am
Thread Starter 
Thank you for your detailed replies! One Australian friend did say that they could not eat too much of a mud cake. Maybe it was too rich? I forgot the exact wording now. They also said that it tastes better a few days later too. It seems that would be good for decorating/wedding cakes- heavier and tastes great days later?

okay, well I will bake a white chocolate mud cake next week and let my NZ/Aussie friends try it out to let me know.

thank you again!!
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post #5 of 6
8/13/12 at 6:35am
Thread Starter 
Update: I made the white chocolate mud cake recipe from this site and it is great! It was very moist, had a great texture and taste- I've been very pleasantly surprised!

And by the way, it's not 'dense' in the same way that I thought 'dense' would be. Its not a 'negative' dense to me anyway. I do have to say that the recipe only made one 8" pan so I had to torte it into two layers and it rose higher than most of my other cakes..but all in all- much more moist and rich than a lot of other cakes I've made. I will completely try more mud cakes from now on.
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post #6 of 6
8/13/12 at 7:32am
Quote:
Originally Posted by cakefat

I'm located close to the Australia region and I find a lot of people/bakeries are making mud cakes. I'm going to attempt to make a one soon (as I've never even eaten before) and I've been reading over recipes and speaking to some Australian and New Zealand friends who have all described the cake as being 'dense'. Almost like a torte.
Really !!! I would never have thought of describing a Mud Cake as that of a Torte.
Any Torte i have ever eaten - whether here or through Europe have been nothing like a Mud Cake.
Perhaps some of those you have been speaking to haven't cooked thier Mud Cakes long enough.....................shrug.


I'm wondering if this just a difference in what tastes good and/or a culture of how cakes are baked? I thought one of the objectives was always to bake a not dense cake but light and fluffy?
If you ae baking a Sponge Cake - you want light anf fluffy.
If you want a Fruit Cake - you want a cake full of body and moist
If you want to make a Mud Cake - you want a cake Rich in taste - a good Crumb and heavier in texture than that of a Sponge Cake.

Because all of thee three styles/types of cakes are so different is why they were/are served at different times of the day and for different occassions.

If i was having a Luncheon - i wouldn't serve a Mud Cake along side a cup of tea. Some might - i wouldn't.


So I'm confused why 'dense' would be a good thing? Alot of people are put off because of this very statement...Yes, when a Mudcake is just baked - (still warm) the cake can be described as Dense - however a Mud Cake should have a fine crumb - Due to the fact that 99% of us Australians freeze our Mud Cakes after baking is to *settle* the Mud side of the cake. The mud cake recipes look very yummy and I'm going to try one regardless but I was wondering if anyone had any insight to this? Dense is a good thing (in cakes) now?
Again - it depends in what style/type of cake your baking... and for what occassion.
I have friends from the Southern Europe who don't like to eat Mud Cake.
They prefer thier traditional Almond style Cake.
Like Mud Cake - they are rich - but in different ways.

Tradition plays a bit part in what certain people wish to eat and at what function.
I would never suggest making a Mud Cake for those friends of mine for a Wedding - such occassions run deep with tradition.
Australians are not so steeped in Tradition per sae - so we are rather flexible with trying different Cakes for any function.
It really has only been in the last 4- 5 years that the Red Velvet Cake has popped up in Weddings and Engagement Parties. Only because Red Velvet cake wasn't widely known of over here.

Bluehue

Or is the 'dense' in mud cakes different that the bad 'dense' of what happens in cakes sometimes?


Thank you for your help!
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