Caramel Mud Cake

If making your own caramel, preheat oven to 220°C (fan forced).

Pour condensed milk into a 2-litre ovenproof dish. Cover dish with foil and crush excess foil upwards. Place dish in a larger baking dish and add enough boiling water to come halfway up side of the dish. Bake for 1 ½ hours stirring mixture several times during cooking, until a golden caramel colour, adding extra boiling water to baking dish as needed to maintain water level during baking. Whisk caramel until smooth. Cover and cool to room temperature.

Reduce oven to 130°C (fan forced). Grease a deep 20cm (8-inch) round cake pan and line base and side with baking paper.

In a medium saucepan, stir butter, sugar, vanilla and salt over low heat, without boiling, until smooth. Add prepared caramel (or top ‘n’ fill), milk and schnapps; whisk until smooth. Transfer mixture to a large bowl and cool for 15 minutes. Whisk in sifted flours, then eggs. Pour into pan.

Bake for 1 hour. Cover pan loosely with foil and bake another 45 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Let cake cool in tin for 15 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool.

Add chopped white chocolate to a medium bowl. Heat cream in a saucepan over low heat until it reaches a low simmer. Pour over white chocolate and leave for 3-4 minutes before mixing thoroughly. Let cool before mixing through caramel (top ‘n’ fill). Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.

Using a serrated knife, carefully level the cake by slicing off the domed top. Lightly ganache the sides and generously top the cake with remaining ganache.