Charity Bake #3 - Mary Berry's Rich Chocolate Traybake

I haven't done any baking for a little while for one reason or another, so I  thought it was well overdue for me to make another charity bake.

One thing I've never tried until now is a traybake ... a couple of weeks ago I identified this shortfall in my baking equipment so I got me a Mary Berry with Lakeland traybake tin ... so what could be nicer to christen it with than a Mary Berry recipe??  This one was in a pull out in last week's Mail on Sunday ... and is taken from Mary Berry Cooks - the book to accompany Mary's new TV series.  I just changed the topping slightly, and made it with gluten free flour for no other reason than I had some in the house, and I know a couple of people in work who can only eat wheat free :-).

Mary Berry's Rich Chocolate Traybake

Taken from: Mary Berry Cooks by Mary Berry.

Serves: recipe says 21 slices, but I cut it into 16 (each slice 3" * 2" in a 12" * 8" tin)

Ingredients:
For the cake:
50g (2oz) cocoa powder
6 tbsp boiling water
100g (4oz) softened butter (I used unsalted)
275g (10oz) caster sugar
3 eggs, beaten
125ml milk
175g (6oz) self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
3-4tbsp warned apricot jam (recipe says sieved, but I didn't bother!)

For the icing:
100ml double cream
200g (7oz) baking milk chocolate, finely chopped.

Equipment:
30cm * 20cm (12" * 8")  traybake tin.

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180°C /160°C fan / Gas Mark 4. Grease traybake tin and line the base with baking parchment.
2. Measure cocoa into a bowl, add boiling water and mix to a smooth paste.

3. Add butter and beat into cocoa until smooth

4. Then add the sugar, eggs, milk, flour & baking powder, and mix until combined.

5. Pour mixture into tin, spread evenly and bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes until well risen, just firm to the touch and shrinking away from the sides of the tin.

6. Leave in the tin to cool for 10 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack and peel off the baking parchment. Brush the top of the cake with warmed jam, then leave cake to cool completely.

7. Meanwhile, make the icing by warming the cream in a small pan until hot (not boiling) then add the chocolate and stir until melted and smooth. Leave to cool until a thick pouring our fudgy consistency, then spread over the top of the cake with a large spatula or palette knife.

8. I decorated the cake very simply by sprinkling first with dark chocolate spaghetti (which lies flat) then with white chocolate curls. Tip: use the sprinkles while the icing is still wet so they will stick easily.

Observations:
This really was sooo easy to make ... and the chocolate batter was so delicious that I was tempted to just sit there spooning it all into my mouth and forget about putting any into the baking tin! (I managed to resist but it was a close call!)

This cake is for my charity baking challenge (apart from 1 piece each for me and my husband to sample); but I think I'll be baking this for home before too long ... apparently it can freeze well for up to 3 months though I doubt it would last that long!!

That's all for now ... back later with a fundraising update.

Update: amount raised - £15. This one seemed to go down very well .. I went off to a meeting leaving it in our works kitchen, and when I returned there was just a tray of crumbs left!!
Hugs,