One:
This is not a loaf of bread.
It’s not a boule, and it’s not a heavy rye that you can buy by the quarter at your local boulangerie (or bakery, for those of us not living in France).
Two:
This, however, is a sandwich.
A salted crunchy roasted peanut butter caramel mud cake sandwich.
Oh, you want me to repeat that?
This is a salted crunchy roasted peanut butter caramel mud cake sandwich.
Sure, you could have your caramel mud cake by the slice, plain and unadorned, as sweet-tooths have been doing for centuries.
But where’s the fun in that?
My point exactly.
Caramel Mud Cake
Recipe from The Australian Women’s Weekly Cafe Cakes Mini Cookbook
- 185g butter, chopped
- 150g white chocolate, chopped coarsely
- 1 cup (220g) firmly packed brown sugar
- 1/3 cup (80ml) golden syrup
- 1 cup (250ml) milk
- 1 1/2 cups (225g) plain flour
- 1/2 cup (75g) self-raising flour
- 2 eggs
- Preheat oven to 160°C/325°F (I did 150°C/300°F). Grease and line a deep 23cm-round cake tin.
- Combine butter, chocolate, sugar, golden syrup, and milk in a medium saucepan. Stir over low heat, without boiling, until smooth. Transfer mixture to large bowl; cool for 15 minutes.
- Whisk in sifted flours, then the eggs one at a time. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Now, the recipe said to bake at 160°C for 1 1/2 hours, but I did 1 hour and 15 minutes at 150°C and, as you can see, the outer edges got a little over-zealously browned. So keep an eye on your cake (timing may depend on your oven; mine isn’t the most reliable) and cover the cake with foil if it’s browning too much.
- Stand cake in pan for 30 minutes; turn onto wire rack to cool. If desired, spread with a white chocolate ganache.
- The awesome thing about mud cakes is they tend to taste better and better over the course of a few days. If you’re me, this means you can give a quarter to your dinner date, a quarter to the grandma who didn’t receive your date coconut cashew treats, a quarter to your dad as part of his Fathers Day present, and a quarter can be hoarded for yourself to make sandwiches with.
- Healthy, healthy sandwiches.
{ 96 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh Hannah. Sandwiching peanut butter between anything is a surefire way to win me over, but between caramel mudcake? I seriously want. Do you think it would work as chocolate caramel mudcake, with dark choc instead of white choc to veganise?
If there’s anyone who could truly appreciate this masterpiece, it’s an American
Hmm, that would be an interesting creation, though I don’t know whether the chocolate would overpower the golden syrup? Perhaps using Sweet William’s vegan white choc in the cake then glazing with a dark chocoalte ganache would be an option?
This is a beautiful thing you’ve done here, Hannah. A bold pioneering move that demands respect. I don’t know that I would have the guts to make a dessert sandwich out of caramel cake and peanut butter, but you my lady, have nothing if not guts.
I detect a slight jab at my digestive system in your comment, my dear
But you know what? Bring it on. I like my guts’ ability to own this sandwich. 
sylvia and I have just been feeding each other pieces of your cake and decided it is very nice – though of course we didn’t have it with peanut butter though I love your idea! Am sure your father will be very pleased with his cake
Did you really make this already? Wow!! I’m incredibly impressed! If peanut butter is a risk, you could always use sunflower seed butter in the sandwich
sorry – that wasn’t very clear – no we didn’t make it – we were just pretending – but sylvia did love seeing the picture of the cake – must try sunbutter – sylvia can eat every nut butter except peanut so I had been wondering what nut butter to substitute – because we do want to make it one day and cake sandwiches seem like just what I want for lunch!
Definitely go for sunbutter then; it’s the most comparable to peanut butter in my opinion. In fact, I find it more addictive (by the spoon) than peanut butter, particularly the Eskal Crunchy kind, so I haven’t let myself buy it in weeks!
Oh. My. God. Cake and peanut butter = best lunch EVER! Hell, best MEAL ever. This is by far the most beautiful thing I’ve seen all day. I actually started making a cake this afternoon and then realized that my oven was unplugged, boo!
Kate – I couldn’t agree with you more!! My mouth is watering!!
And I agree with you both! Hurrah!
Wait, does that mean I’m agreeing with myself in a strangely narcissistic and third-person way?
Yes, Hannah thinks that’s probably what Hannah just did.
Hannah – what I *really* want to know is: How do you stay so teeny tiny with your love of great food?! Great genetics? Is it something in the Australian water? Is it a blogger secret? Do tell!!
I think it’s because I exist almost purely on chocolate and vegetables, and because Australia is a magical land of dancing unicorns and fairies and laughter and trees made of gold and shoes made of sparkles.
Yes, that’s it.
I cannot believe how amazingly delicious this cake sounds, even though I can’t eat a single ingredient in it! Just the kind of concoction I would have loved back in my “eat anything” days. . . lucky you.
Thanks Ricki, I’m quite honoured by the generosity of your comment, as I would assume this is something you’d normally swat away with a 50-foot pole! To be honest, it’s not something my lasctose-intolerant stomach can truly cope with either… but I had to “taste-test” it
I want me soommmmmeeee!!! drizzled with chocolate fudge plz!
Coming right up! *transforms internet into magical cake-delivery service*
HAHAH, you crack me up. cake + pb sounds heavenly!!!
(btw, sorry i’ve been so late with my blog reading! just started work again this week. getting ready to teach again!)
Oh gosh, don’t worry about it lady! I’m happy whenever you show up
Good luck with teaching – work definitely can interfere with blogging sometimes 
There I was thinking that the ideal day was described in your previous post, starting with cake and hide and seek for breakfast. Oh, how wrong! Clearly, the ideal day would have to include this sandwich for lunch.
I wonder how it would work with chocolate mud cake?
I think a Mississippi Mud Cake sandwich using PB Loco’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Butter could possibly even triumph over this creation
If only PB Loco hadn’t gone out of business!
P.S. Thank you! Your comments always make me smile
Just add in some marshmallow fluff and this would be THE BEST FLUFFERNUTTER IN THE WORLD EVER.
And naturally eggless and could-be-dairy-free? With white chocolate and golden syrup? BOOKMARKED.
That’s it. I simply have to make a Marshmallow Creme order from USA Foods. It’s time.
Except, sadly, there are eggs involved, but surely flax or a replacement could work? I bet you could make an insanely good vegan version of this
D’oh, I totally missed the eggs at the bottom there. Oh well, eggs, schmeggs. I’m in either way!
Oh dear me, this makes me love you such a lot (like….more than usual) because it’s SO something i would do. In fact, it’s something i DID do with the brownies i made last weekend
hahah great minds….uhhh….die of diabetes alike? :p
One day, Lizzi, you and I will be in a nursing home together, stealing all the desserts from the plates of the less-compos-mentis folk around us so that we can have eating competitions, before pushing our walkers back to our adjoining rooms to watch trashy reruns of the Kardashians together, talking about what lovely girls they were/are compared to today’s kiddlywinks.
It will be glorious.
That’s my kind of cake. I’m not sure if this is the right place to confess, but I prefer caramel, toffee and butterscotch flavours to chocolate!
It’s the perfect place to admit that, because I’m exactly the same when it comes to desserts! I [almost] never choose anything chocolate-y that isn’t actual chocolate
haha now that is a sandwich! I wonder if I can get away with serving that for lunch under the definitions act or 1983?
OK there is no definitions act but if you say something lawyerly enough people will let you do it
Lorraine, I’d believe anything you say, and agree with anything you do.
Oh my, so sinful!!
Nothing this good can be sinful!
Gee, that really did look deceptively wholesome until I found out what it was and checked out the list of ingredients! You devious woman, you. :p
What isn’t wholesome about this? I simply don’t understand.
How the heck do you stay so thin and gorgeous my dearest? I couldn’t stop at just one sandwich, I’d have to eat the whole ‘loaf’. I was playing around with a banana slice the other day and ended up with this glorious babana sandwich. Mmmmmm…. Right, I’ve gotta go find food to satisfy my need to eat peanut butter. Xx
And that, Anna, is why I gave away most of this “loaf” (well, that and the fact that’s it’s full of things that make my tummy hurt!). Wait, what?! BANANAS?! How could you not share bananas with your bestie? I yearn for the expensive blighters!
How are you still so skinny??????!!!!
Because this is highly nutritious and good for me.
Erm… I do not think so… OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!!!
Well, yes, that would make me weigh less too.
I think the dessert sandwich is a highly underrated genre, and way underrepresented on dessert menus today. I’ll be doing my best to change that.
Camille, you tease! I’ve been pestering you for the details of your new jobblywinks for ages now!
And you will hear all, once I actually get to start! (Hopefully November.)
Smiles!
Everybody (female) in my family (except me, ha) has something like an always-work-well cake. (At least I can cook well, even if I suck at baking.
) Anyway, with my grandmom on my mom’s side, it’s either Frankfurter Kranz – a sponge mixture layered and coated with buttercream – or Sandtorte (sand tarte ???), made from flour and starch and lots of butter and sugar with a slight hint of lemon. As a child, I especially loved when it got soggy, and your cake exactly looks like that! Mmmmmmmm! If there just wasn’t that flour and sugar in it … I’d totally rave now. (Sorry, your know I’m thinking in practical terms nowadays – yay food allergies. 
)
Haha, no need to apologise Kath, I shouldn’t be eating this either! All the allergies in my family meant that only my dad received a quarter of it
Oh my goodness, this might just be the best sandwich I have ever seen. What a treat!
Teehee, thank you!
I am definitely making this next week. Mud cake sandwich…how good does that sound. I closed my eyes and could imagine nutella in between the mudcake slices. Can you suggest a substitute for golden syrup? (I really envy you, Nigella uses a lot of golden syrup too. Wish i could find some)
Hmmm, I think I’d suggest treacle? Molasses would be too strong, and honey and agave either too subtle or the wrong flavour profile. Can you find treacle? I must admit I’m not sure, though, because golden syrup is so common here that I’ve never had to think about it!
Just found out the solution to this problem -> Amazon. I am going to order some soon
oh my – this is freakin’ awesome!
This looks amazing. Peanut butter caramel sandwich. I am sure bacon and eggs will go well with that bread as well:)
Yep, if you’re Elvis!
Genius!! Nuff’ said
*bows*
Oooh looks delicious!
I have no words.
Except: I just decided what I’m making for Friday’s work morning tea.
Good idea! Morning teas don’t often have sandwiches, so you’ll be quite unique
Holy holy holy. You have hit the spot with this one Hannah. I have a crowd of people standing behind me at a Woden library computer station wondering why I am sitting here drooling profusely! They want to get into the peanut butter too. I said “no way – the jar was 3/4 empty yesterday and is now completely empty – Hannah used the remainder on her mouse traps”.
And you are right about the Americans loving such a treat. Elvis would have gone bananas over it. Now where can I get a piece of the action? Please!
Bahahaha! Oh, Mike, I love your comments. There needs to be a word for your spectacular ability to pull together so many threads of my life into a coherent whole
Thank heavens, though, that none of the mousetraps have been “sprung” yet! I really didn’t want to deal with that. I had a hard enough time with the dead spider!
I like the way you think yo! It’s like a meal and dessert in one. BAM!
And I bet there would be some of that yummo peanut butter for a midnight snack as well?!
There is always, always peanut butter for a midnight snack in my house, Adrian. You’re welcome anytime
White chocolate isn’t dairy free though is it … more’s the pity. Somehow it feels like it would lose something with dark choc…but maybe it would gain something else?
The Sweet William’s white chocolate is! But yes, I wouldn’t switch the white for dark here; I’d make a proper chocolate mud cake/mississipi mud cake instead
Sounds sensible to me … glad you think so too!
Being of the peanut butter hating brigade, I cannot condone your choice of spread, your idea however of a cake sandwich is highly meritorious. I’m thinking nutella would make an excellent nut based spread alternative, with the added bonus of chocolate. And who doesn’t like a chocolate caramel combo?
I s’pose nutella could do in a pinch…
But sunflower seed butter would be amazing, too, if you can’t do peanut butter! Or dulce de leche, with a sprinkle sea salt… oh, I want another one now.
This is the most brilliant thing I have seen all day – nay, for a while!
Hurrah! Your comment makes my day full of sparkles and rainbows!
Whoah – and to think that I’m reading this whilst eating day-old bread (from our local boulangerie) with peanut butter and creamed honey – a poor substitute for your sandwich!
Some might say your version is slightly more nutritious and sustaining. To such people I say ‘Bah, humbug’!
P.S. You still win in terms of proximity to Paris, though.
OH MAN! You can’t even begin to imagine how excited I was when I saw the title of this post.
Whenever it’s someone’s birthday at my work, the birthday person gets to choose a cake from The Cheesecake Shop and I ALWAYS choose the caramel mudcake. I’ve been wanting to make my own for quite some time so I shrieked with glee when I saw that you posted a recipe. I think I’ll make this, and spread the salted caramel spread that I bought from Burch and Purchese all over it. Yum!
Oh Libby, that sounds AMAZING. And the funny thing is I’ve been craving dulce de leche all day… somehow my mind must have subconsciously/psychically picked up on the comment you left here last night, even before I read it!
You’re genius
Oh, and keep an eye on the temp and the browning, if you do make this one…
Best sandwich in history!!! Now I want to go make one with banana bread and Nutella…
That would also be amazing! Particularly because I haven’t eaten a banana in a year, due to the $3.50 each price tag
Hannah, you’re one ambitious lady! I take my hat off to you, because I think this may be too intense for me. I know, I know, I hear you, saying “intensely delicious!”…maybe one day I could handle this. I do trust you after all!
Heidi xo
And then one day, we’ll have you eating a caramel mud cake peanut butter and dulce de leche sandwich too. That said, I like my bowls of raw broccoli and cauliflower tossed in nutritional yeast just as much
Oh absolutely! You’re queen of balance. You know, I do love my PB. Just not with caramel. Personal choice. Maybe I’d enjoy it with chocolate cake? and then some jam too…always good to do research before I state my opinion
xo
Just putting it out there: I’m more than happy to make you a Mississippi Mud Cake PB&J sandwich anytime you decide to so research
oh yes please!! I was so keen to try Mississippi mud cake/pie in the States but alas, my cake/pie experiences were limited. Too much other goodness to be eaten. I did have key lime pie though! Anyway, I think that warrants a Canberra visit, surely
xo
Your enthusiasm, and the fact that I like you so much, are enabling me to overlook the implication here than I alone aren’t enough to warrant a Canberra visit on your part
Dinner date dinner date DINNER DATE?!?!
I’d be up for a date with you anytime.
Oh my, you are keeling me! That is such an amazing idea! Definitely lunch worthy. hehe.
Hannah, of course this was a fun read. But more importantly, I want you to know what great influence you hold in your world. I read this on the bus on the way home from work on Monday arvo. Being an obsessed baker and being smack bang in the middle of doing cakes for the farewell of a lovely young woman at work who is leaving to have her first baby, I had all of the ingredients at home. So, I got home and made your cake. I have used much of it to make baby building blocks to go alongside the main cake, but all the trimmed off bits of cake, I made, you guessed it, peanut butter caramel mud cake sangers. Definitely a taste sensation, not sure that it was the healthiest lunch EVER, but it was definitely a yummy one that made me laugh. That’s got to be good, no? Thanks for sharing.
Squee!! Oh my heavens, I’m so utterly, utterly delighted! Thank you for telling me this, and for joining me in the magnficence that is the caramel mud cake peanut butter sandwich. hey, how about we start our own Cake Sandwich cafe here in Canberra?
I’m there – let’s do it. This cake makes a mighty fine white chocolate ganache sambo also, as I discovered – this cake is a vehicle! The Canberra Cake Sandwich Cafe – has a ring to it
I’ve been a bit tired of normal work lately… let’s do it!
OMG I can’t believe you actually did that!
Yes you can. You totally can.
Continuing my golden syrup streak, I made this tonight! Except I had to take it out after just 45 minutes because I smelled it burning. The bottom turned black
but the rest of it is DELICIOUS! I wonder if you Aussies’ ovens are different from ours somehow?
Holy smokes (no pun intended), I wonder what that was about?! I wouldn’t have thought that our ovens would be that different, except for the way in which every oven is slightly different. Is yours fan-forced? I’m sorry there was blackness, but so glad the rest of it was delicious
Did you use an egg substitute?
Nope, I was naughty and used real eggs! Although not TOO naughty; the eggs came from the happy hens at this local farm
Woooot! Hurrah for almost-ness!
You just might be interested in the Raspberry Whip recipe then 
I just might!
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