This is my very favorite small batch 8-inch square Mississippi Mud Cake recipe. It's adapted from an old (1993) recipe in Cook's Illustrated where it was shared in response to a reader's request for a cake similar to one she'd tried at The Greenmarket in NYC. She described it as "wonderfully fudgy" while at the same time "delicate and moist" and added that the cake contained coffee, chocolate and liquor (bourbon).
This is my version of the recipe CI shared, which they got from a book called The Thrill of the Grill. The original recipe is double this and baked in a 9x13 inch pan. My version uses half the ingredients for the cake and ⅔ of the icing and is baked in an 8-inch square pan. Aesthetically, glass is a nice choice, and you can serve the cake right out of the pan. If you only have metal, that's fine too. Here's a new photo. I took this one when the cake was still a little gooey. Maybe I'll add another photo when the icing sets.
Cake Texture and Flavor
Mud cake has an advantage when it comes to texture. Even if the cake itself is dry, a mud cake has squishy marshmallows, crunchy nuts and a velvety icing. Luckily this cake is not dry. It's a moist chocolate cake and not a brownie. I was worried it would be too much like the Mississippi Mud Brownies recipe. It's not, and the bourbon flavor is just right.
Easy Chocolate Glaze to Use Over and Over
This glaze, or you could call it an icing (I keep going back and forth) is easy. I originally made it in a 2 cup Pyrex with a few quick buzzes in the microwave. That's still an option, but since you already have a saucepan out for melting the chocolate for the cake, you might as well use the range. Whichever method you choose the glaze/icing is really easy. It flows nicely, goes on shiny and eventually sets. I used butter, Ghirardelli Bittersweet Chips, dark corn syrup, water and more bourbon.
Leaving Out The Bourbon
Bourbon is a wonderful addition to Mississippi Mud Cake, but if you're baking for the kids or just aren't in the mood for a boozy cake, you can swap the bourbon for more coffee. I am not sure which version I prefer - with bourbon or without.
Marshmallow and Nut Amount
What I do love are all the marshmallows! The recipe only calls for ¾ cup, but you can use as many as you want. For the nuts, feel free to use pecans or throw in some walnuts.
Glass Dish and 325F
I've always baked this cake at 350F, but I recently tried lowering the temperature to 325F and baking a little longer, which is a general rule of thumb when using glass instead of metal. The lower temperature helped the cake bake more evenly, so I've reduced the baking temp in the recipe card to 325 for the glass pan version. If using metal, you can stick with 350. At 325F, it should take around 35 minutes to bake. You'll know it's done when a meat thermometer tops out at 200F.
Recipe
Chocolate Bourbon Mud Cake aka Mississippi Mud Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (140 grams)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 stick unsalted butter (114 grams)
- 3 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped (84 grams)
- ¼ cup strong brewed coffee
- ¼ cup bourbon (or more coffee)
- ¾ cup sugar (150 grams)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup marshmallows (See Note)
- ½ cup toasted chopped pecans
Chocolate-Bourbon Glaze
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (28 grams)
- 1 ½ tablespoons hot water
- 2 oz bittersweet chips or chopped chocolate (56 grams)
- ¾ teaspoon corn syrup, light or dark okay
- 1 teaspoon bourbon or ¼ teaspoon of vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch square pan. You can use glass or metal. If using glass, preheat to 325F.
- Mix together the flour, baking soda and salt and set aside.
- In a saucepan, heat the butter over medium until it is about halfway melted. Reduce heat to low and add the chopped chocolate. As chocolate starts to melt, add the bourbon and the coffee. Stir until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.
- Remove from heat and stir in the sugar.
- In a medium size bowl, whisk together the eggs. Add about ¼ cup of the chocolate mixture to the eggs, then whisk all of the egg mixture into the chocolate. Whisk in the vanilla.
- Add the flour mixture and stir until smooth, then empty into the prepared baking dish.
- Bake for about 25 minutes. Have marshmallows and nuts ready to go.
- After about 25 minutes (30 minute if using glass and 325), remove from oven and sprinkle marshmallow and nuts over the top. Return to the oven and bake for about 3 minutes or until marshmallows start to puff up. Remove from oven. If you have a meat thermometer, you can stick it in the middle. Cake is done when the temperature tops out at 200F.
Mud Cake Glaze
- Put the butter in a microwave safe (Pyrex) measuring cup or in a small saucepan.. Heat it for about 30 seconds or until partially melted. Add the hot water (or coffee) and the chocolate chips and stir well so that the chips start to melt.
- Add the corn syrup. Microwave or heat over the stove for another 15 seconds and stir until smooth. Everything should be completely melted at this point, but if not then do another 15 seconds. Stir in the bourbon OR a dash of vanilla extract. Pour over the marshmallows. Let cool and set.
Anna says
Thanks for the input. When I re-bake old recipes like this one, I find myself asking the same questions so I am taking more time to try to figure them out rather than move on to the next recipe.
Marsha says
It's amazing how all of the questions I had after reading thru this recipe, were answered in your preface to the recipe. Thank you!
Anna says
Elizabeth, thanks for the extra background info and the cornbread tip. I'm going to hunt it down and see if it's one I've tried. Also, I was just thinking the other day how some of the best sides and dessert recipes are kind of hidden in grilling and barbecue books.
Elizabeth says
I'll put in a plug for The Thrill of the Grill, coming out of an amazing Cambridge restaurant (The East Coast Grill) which opened in the mid-1980s. Always fun to eat there, and the food deceptively simple (like this cake) but never less than extraordinary. The cornbread from this cookbook is also a perennial favorite in my household. Chris Schlesinger was a great chef.
Anna says
Hi Sonya!
This one is good. I definitely think you could make it with coffee or even hot water. I am going to go look for the pie you mentioned.
Sonya says
This looks SO good! I'm not personally into bourbon desserts, but this looks really interesting! I LOVE the Mississippi Mud Pie from Cook's Illustrated, but didn't know they'd published a cake version too. How interesting!
Anna says
Sue, I think it would be really good with Kahlua, but maybe half the amount. You could also just try replacing it with more coffee.
Sue says
It looks fabulous. If Bourbon isn’t my thing can it be left out or is there a substitution you would recommend?