Chocolate Traybake
My chocolate sponge recipe with a simple icing designed for kids parties or easy afternoon teas
180°C/fan 160°C/gas mark 4
55 minutes
20
“For a lemon traybake, replace the cocoa and milk with the zest of 2 lemons, plus 1 tbsp of lemon juice and also use the lemon juice for the icing instead of water.”
Ingredients
225g butter, softened
225g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs
225g gluten-free self-raising flour
25g cocoa powder
4 tbsp milk
Icing
225g icing sugar
2-3 tbsp water
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas mark 4. Grease and line a 12 x 9 inch (30 cm x 23 cm) roasting tin (or any similar tin will do) with greaseproof paper.
Measure all the ingredients into a large bowl and beat well for about 2 minutes with an electric hand whisk until well blended. Turn the mixture into the prepared tin and level the top. You may want to make a bit of a dip in the centre to ensure the sponge comes out flat.
Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 35 – 40 minutes or until the cake has shrunk from the sides of the tin and springs back when pressed in the centre with your fingertips. Leave to cool in the tin.
For the icing: sift the icing sugar into a bowl, gradually add the water to the icing sugar until it is smooth and spreadable. Add some food colouring for a stronger visual effect.
