How do you fancy a fudgy and chocolatey chocolate sprinkle tray bake? Well, you have come to the right place!
Day 15 and the second weekend of our quarantine, leaves me bouncing off the walls. Literally! So I have turned to baking and cooking to keep me sane during these strange times. After all, since we have been on lockdown, the boys seem to be hungrier than usual.
During these difficult times, we all need a little cheering up. And what’s better than a chocolate sprinkle traybake to do just that. Made of rich and fudgy sponge, this chocolate traybake will leave you wanting for more. If you have tried my Sprinkle Tray Bake and Coconut and Jam traybake, then I am sure that you will love this one.
The best thing about this chocolate cake is that it’s super easy to make. This recipe is my ‘go-to’ chocolate cake. After several trials and errors, I think I have finally perfected a cake that you can just make in less than 10 minutes and yields an amazing result.
Making The Chocolate Sponge
Making the sponge is super easy. There’s no butter and sugar to cream, just place all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir to ensure that everything is mixed well. Add the buttermilk and eggs into the dry mixture and mix well.
Buttermilk
Adding buttermilk in your cake mixture gives you a soft cake with a lot more body. If you don’t have buttermilk available, don’t worry. A substitute is very easy to make. Place milk in a jug and add 4 tsp of white vinegar or lemon. You will notice that your milk will thicken. Allow the milk to sit for about 3-5 minutes before pouring into your cake mixture.
Coconut Oil
When it comes to baking, coconut oil makes a great substitute for butter. This makes the cake moist and adds richness without making your cake greasy and heavy. If you do not have coconut oil, it’s also fine to use sunflower oil or olive oil for this recipe.
Icing
The best thing about icing this cake is that you have two options depending on how you like your icing. The amount of ingredients that I have listed in this recipe stays the same.
- Butter Icing – Cream the butter and icing sugar. Add the cocoa powder and mix well on medium speed. Pour in 4 tablespoons of milk to achieve a thick but spreadable consistency. You can add more milk if your mixture is too thick to spread.
- Glazed Icing – Melt the butter in a saucepan and remove from the heat. Stir in the icing sugar, cocoa powder and milk making sure that there are no lumps. Pour the icing on top of the cooled cake, and let it run down the sides. Use a spatula to even out the icing. Leave to cool before adding the sprinkles.
Chocolate Sprinkle Tray Bake
A classic super rich and tasty chocolate sprinkle tray bake recipe that you won't be able to resist.
Ingredients
Chocolate Sponge
- 300g plain flour
- 300g caster sugar
- 113g cocoa powder
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 ½ tsp bicarbonate soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp coffee powder
- 473ml butter milk
- 125 ml coconut oil or sunflower oil
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla essence
- 284 ml hot water
Icing
- 150g salted butter, softened
- 200g icing sugar
- 4 tbsp cocoa powder
- 2 tbsp milk
- 30g sprinkles to decorate
Instructions
Making the sponge
- Preheat the oven to 160°c (I have a fan oven) and line a 30cm x 23 cm x 3.5cm square cake tin with greaseproof paper. Set aside.
- Add all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir with a fork or whisk until completely blended.
- Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture and add the buttermilk and 2 eggs.
- Mix on medium speed with an electric hand whisk.
- Once all the liquid is blended, add the coconut oil into the mixture. Whisk for about 1-2 minutes.
- Add the vanilla essence and mix well.
- Boil the kettle and add 285ml of water into the cake mixture.
- Transfer the mixture into the square tin and bake for around 35-45 minutes.
- You can test if the cake is done by placing a toothpick in the middle of the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean the cake is done.
Making the icing
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan and remove from the heat.
- Stir in the icing sugar, cocoa powder and milk.
- Do not worry if the icing looks runny. This will thicken when it cools down.
- Pour the icing over the cake and leave it to set.
- Decorate with sprinkles and enjoy!
Notes
- Your cake mixture will have a watery consistency. Do not panic, this is OK.
- Do not forget to sift the flour, cocoa powder and sugar. This will prevent lumps in your cake.
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Summary
So far cooking and baking are keeping me sane during this lockdown. It’s nice to be able to bake and share with you. I hope you enjoy making and eating them as much as we did! 🤤
If you like this recipe, then you might also like my other retro cake recipes. Check them out below:
27 comments
How long do you bake the sponge for please?
Hi Kelly, for about 30 minutes at 160°c 🙂
Hi, I am baking the cake for the first time,at 160 it is still not cooked after 50mins?
Is looks great but just not cooking should it be 180 on a fan?
Hi Laura, most ovens can differ in temperature, so if it’s not cooking as quickly increase the temperature a little bit. Also if you are using a smaller tray then cooking time might be a bit longer. 🙂
Hi Maria your recipes are amazing! My daughter is really missing school so she asked me to make her favourite school dessert so yesterday we made the retro sprinkle traybake and I was transported back 30 years 🙂 Erin said it was way better than the school version. .It’s her 10th birthday on Friday so I’m looking for a really good chocolate cake recipe. I wondered if the chocolate traybake recipe would work as a 3 layer sandwich cake?
Hi Zoe, I’m glad the cake turned out well and you all enjoyed it! Yes, the chocolate cake is also good as a sandwich cake as I have made this before with ganache icing in the middle. Not sure about 3 layers, but 2 layer was perfect! 🙂
Hi, I made your sprinkle tray bake last week and the family absolutely loved it! I’m going to attempt this chocolate one and if all goes well hoping to make a birthday cake with the recipe for my daughter, im wondering if the recipe will be enough for a tall/slim layered cake or will I need to adjust to make more? Also will it rise enough to make a birthday cake using plain flour? Thankyou, just starting out baking properly and finding your recipes so helpful! X
Hi Debbie, I have used this recipe before using a round cake tin and it made a two-layer cake. It’s better if you put 2 tsp of baking powder instead of only using plain flour. I’m glad you and your family enjoyed the cake! 🙂
Hello. Just wanted to confirm should the cake be cool before adding the icing??
Hi Zekiye, yes the cake should be cooled down first before adding the icing. 🙂
Hello, can you please confirm the measurement for Bicarb in this recipe – it says 1 /12 tsp bicarbonate soda?
Is that one twelfth? Or one and a half? Or a half?
Hi Emma, sorry that was a typo its 1/½ 🙂
Hello Maria,
Thank you so much for your quick response! It is now in the oven cooking…… 🙂
I made this tonight for my chocolate addicted partner and he LOVED it! The cake turned out so soft and moist. What a delicious recipe! Thank you 🙂
Hi Stephanie! Glad to hear that it turned out great and that your partner loved it! 😀 Thanks for trying out the recipe!
I made your retro tray bake today to have as a sweet treat after opening our fast and everyone absolutey loved it! They were all saying how light fluffy and moist it was, I have used other recipes before but your is the best hands down! I have orders to make more 😂 next on my list is this chocolate cake, can you tell me we will taste the coffee or could I leave that out? I don’t want to mess up the taste at all but not a lover of coffee 😕 x
Silly question but is coffee powder instant coffee?
Yes it is. 🙂
I’ve made both chocolate tray bake and the vanilla OMG just the best cakes ever I actually used self raising flour in the chocolate tray bake by mistake and it still turned out perfect the most moist chocolate cake I have ever baked thank you! I’m now going to work my way through the rest of your receipts!
Hi, This looks great, but I don’t have buttermilk, would this work with normal milk? I have semi-skimmed or skimmed.
Hi Sam, yes thats fine you can use normal milk, semi-skimmed or skimmed milk too.
I was really looking forward to making this for my family, but for some reason the cake just wouldn’t cook. It took a good hour for my toothpick to come out clean and I assumed it was fine.
When I cut into the cake later that evening to serve it, the cake was so dense, stodgy and wet, it was like an overly fudgy thick pudding rather than a cake.
I don’t know what went wrong, I followed everything exactly as written.
Do you have any idea what could’ve happened? I really want to make it again but I’m scared in case the same thing happens.
Your comment is awaiting moderation.
(I accidentally posted this comment on another post by mistake)
Hi Mary, sorry to hear that your first attempt didn’t turn out well. Some of reasons why cake can become dense and stodgy can be due to over mixing. Over mixing can trap more air in the butter which leaves the cake dense and oily. Also another reason could be the butter was not room temperature enough. I hope that helps a little 🙂
Hi I made this cake last year and it wouldn’t cook when I looked at the liquid it was so much I have made the sprinkle cake beautiful but the chocolate cake went into the bin