Revolution Baking: Mississippi Mud Pie

Some of us went to Tutt's on July 4th this year for a loosely-American-themed evening and to celebrate Corners's birthday, so I baked a cake. I picked Mississippi Mud Pie. I'm not going to call it Independence Day; I have recently been doing some reading to prepare for the new A-level I'm teaching next term and I note, with interest, that we refer to it as the American Revolution while the Americans all refer to it as the War of Independence. I'll stick with my people.

I combined a couple of recipes and ended up with a tooth-achingly, stomach-clutchingly rich pie. It was probably the first time I baked something meant to serve 12 and actually agreed that it should serve 12. No pictures, naturally.


For the base
300g Oreo cookies
150g dark chocolate digestives
125g unsalted butter, melted

For the mud cake
200g dark chocolate
1 tbsp espresso powder
50ml dark rum
100g butter
150g golden caster sugar
3 large free-range eggs
2 tsp vanilla bean paste
50g golden syrup
30g plain flour

Fudge topping:
150g dark chocolate
150ml double cream (plus extra to serve, they suggest, but you won't need it, and that's coming from someone who occasionally pours double cream on yogurt to serve)
3 tbsp golden syrup
175g icing sugar, sieved

Whizz the biscuits in a food processor until they're broken up. Marvel at how one digestive manages to remain almost whole, spinning around in the processor like someone in a whirlpool. Keeping the processor going, pour in the melted butter. Press into a loose-bottomed tin; I think mine is 10 inches. Chill it until firm, then bake at 160 degrees for 10 minutes.

For the cake, melt the chocolate with the butter, rum and espresso powder over a low heat until smooth. Stir in the sugar. Beat the eggs together with the vanilla and the syrup; pour the slightly cooled chocolate mixture over the eggs, beating all the time. Stir in the flour. Pour the mixture over the biscuit crust and bake at 180 degrees for 30-35 minutes, until a cocktail stick comes out clean.

For the fudge topping, the final nail in your arteries, heat all the fudge ingredients in a saucepan over a medium heat until smooth and glossy - about 5 minutes. Pour over the cooled cake and stick it in the fridge to set.

This may happen. (Sorry it's not in English but the words are less important than what she does with the cake).