Chocolate traybake

My chocolate sponge recipe with a simple icing designed for kids parties or easy afternoon teas

20
55 mins
180°C/fan 160°C/gas mark 4

Emily's option

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

1 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.

2 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.

3 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.

4 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.