Dan Lepard's pumpkin chocolate mud cake recipe

Mud cakes have a dense, moist, almost waxy texture, but this means they stay moist for days. 225g dark chocolate 175g unsalted butter 3 medium eggs 275g soft brown sugar or light muscovado 275ml cold water 3 tsp vanilla extract 250g plain flour 3 tsp baking powder 100g grated pumpkin 125g chopped pecans 275g icing sugar 15ml rum 100ml double cream Line a square 20cm cake tin with nonstick baking paper and heat the oven to 180C (160C fan-assisted)/350F/gas mark 4. Melt the chocolate and 150g butter together. Beat the eggs and brown sugar until smooth, then beat through the chocolate mixture evenly. Slowly beat in the water and vanilla – don't worry that the mixture seems awfully sloppy at this stage – then sift in the flour and baking powder, and beat until very smooth. Stir in first the pumpkin and then the pecans, spoon into the prepared tin and bake for 60 minutes, until set inside. For the frosting, melt 25g butter, beat in the icing sugar, rum and cream, spread over the top of the cake and leave to set. danlepard.com/guardian