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Wednesday, 29 May 2013

Large Chocolate Traybake

Perfect for birthdays, cake stalls and shared afternoon teas
My husband is a chocoholic, he devours loads of the stuff each week.  Dark chocolate is his preference, not too dark and bitter though, 70% cocoa is about right.  I decided to bake a large traybake so that we could share some chocolate deliciousness with neighbours and friends on a miserable and rainy day.  The recipe below makes two 20cm x 30cm traybakes which you can sandwich together with buttercream, ganache or jam and fresh cream.  You could also cut the large traybake in half to make two 15cm x 10cm layer cakes, perfect for bake sales or cake stalls.  If you only need/want one traybake then halve the recipe.  You could still cut it in half and sandwich it together with ganache or buttercream.

Large Chocolate Traybake

550g self-raising flour
120g cocoa powder
230g caster sugar
660ml milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
250ml oil
2 free range eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat oven your to 180C/160C Fan.  Line 2 traybake tins, mine measured 20cm x 30 cm.  

Combine the flour, cocoa and sugar in a large bowl.  Combine the milk, vanilla extract, oil and beaten egg in a jug.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold together until just combined.  Do not overmix the batter or you will end up with heavy cakes.

Pour the mixture evenly into the two lined traybake tins and bake for 20 minutes.  A skewer inserted into the centre should come out clean when the traybakes are cooked.  Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before removing the traybakes to cool completely on a wire rack.

Ganache
150ml/10 Tblsp double cream
300g dark or milk chocolate, chopped into small pieces

In a microwave safe jug, heat the cream in the microwave until almost boiling then add the chopped chocolate.  You could heat the cream until almost boiling in a saucepan on the hob, instead of using a microwave, and mix in the chopped chocolate.  Mix until combined and you have a thick and glossy mixture.  Leave to cool until thickened then use 1/2 - 2/3 to sandwich together the traybake.  Spread remaining ganache over the top of the traybake.



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8 comments:

  1. Corina30 May 2013 at 16:27

    The piece at the bottom looks really inviting!

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    Replies
    1. Utterly Scrummy2 June 2013 at 15:21

      It was delicious, was still fab the next day too. Definitely a cake I will bake more often, especially for cake stalls.

      Delete
  2. Unknown23 March 2015 at 18:28

    How chocolatey was the sponge? And how would you make it more chocolatey? without making it dry or powdery tasting, which can happen if you upset the balance of the ingredients.

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    Replies
    1. Utterly Scrummy24 March 2015 at 07:44

      You could add more cocoa powder in place of flour, it did taste quite chocolatey to start with though. I'd swap maybe 50g of flour with cocoa.

      Delete
  3. Unknown23 March 2015 at 18:39

    In addition to how do I make the sponge more chocolatey can you also please tell me what size eggs were used and also what kind of oil was used? Thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Utterly Scrummy24 March 2015 at 07:41

      I've made the sponge with both medium and large free range eggs, it doesn't make much difference. I used vegetable oil, any flavourless oil should be fine. :)

      Delete
  4. Anonymous27 July 2016 at 04:43

    Hi, was the ganache in the top pic made with milk choc and the panache in the bottom pic made with dark choc? The ganache in the bottom pic just looks so dark, which I think would make it taste too much like dark chocolate for my taste, but I'm not sure if I should use milk choc as when the creams added it 'll be watered down.. so will be more creamy..want it to taste like milk chocolate.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Utterly Scrummy8 August 2016 at 07:05

      It was the same ganache in both photos, just different light in each picture. If you use a mixture of half dark and half milk chocolate to make the ganache you should get the taste you are looking for. You are right that the cream waters down the taste, you can use hot water to make the ganache, just add it slowly to the chopped chocolate until you get the consistency that you want. You probably wouldn't need the same amount of water as you would cream though, usually less is needed.

      Delete