22 May, 2020
Chocolate Traybake
Both kids had their birthdays this week, on the same day! That means lots of cake! My eldest Son requested a Chocolate Traybake, so I made one from a recipe I found in BBC Good Food magazine. The cake isn’t much to look at, but it is one of the best chocolate cakes I’ve ever tasted. It’s an American style cake, using oil and buttermilk in the sponge, topped with a fudge frosting. It’s not too sickly as cocoa powder is used and it stayed really moist for the few days it lasted! Perfect for parties, this cake was a definite hit in our house!
Ingredients for the chocolate sponge:
- 185ml vegetable oil
- 250g plain flour
- 80g cocoa powder
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 325g light brown soft sugar
- 250ml buttermilk
- 125ml strong coffee (can be warm but not hot, I used espresso)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
Ingredients for the frosting:
- 150g butter
- 200g icing sugar
- 4 tbsp cocoa powder
- 2 tbsp milk
- sprinkles, sweets, chocolate or nuts to decorate
Instructions:
- Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan assisted) and oil and line a rectangular cake tin (33cm x 23 cm, with a lip of at least 2 1/2 cm).
- Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, sugar and a pinch of salt in a large bowl.
- Whisk the oil, buttermilk, coffee, vanilla and eggs in a jug, then pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Use a spatula to stir well.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. If any wet cake mixture clings to the skewer, return the cake to the oven for 5 minutes, then check again. Once cooked, remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for at least 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the icing. Melt the butter in a saucepan, then remove from the heat and stir in the icing sugar, cocoa powder and milk. The icing will be very runny but will thicken as it cools. (If the icing has set too much before the cake has cooled, reheat it slightly to make it easier to pour).
- Pour the icing over the cake and leave to set. Decorate with sweets, chocolate, sprinkles or nuts.
- Cut into squares and enjoy!
