Chocolate Tray Bake

This is another recipe from our Pudsey Bake Sale.  I adapted my family parkin recipe to make a lovely, squidgy chcolate tray bake.  Typical me, I went out especially to buy some foil baking trays the day before… and left them in the office!  No matter, the brownie tin did sterling service once again!  I apologise for the shoddy pictures but since this was only cut into and served up at the office my options were very limited. 

 

This tray bake has a lot going in its favour.  First off, it’s delicious!  It has no eggs in it, so it’s suitable for those who are allergic.  (I used to be allergic to eggs as a child but thankfully grew out of it fairly quickly but as a result I always look out for recipes for those who are less fortunate.)  It also has very little fat in the cake itself (although, tonnes of sugar!) which is always nice as you feel a little bit less guilty!  The piece de resistance though is just how easy it is to make.  This would be perfect for any last minute cake emergencies you have. 

Serves 18

For the cake:
2 cups self raising flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Almost a cup of light muscovado sugar
1 large tablespoon of butter
2 tablespoons of golden syrup
1 cup of hot milk
180g chocolate chips

For the ganache:
300g milk chocolate
150ml double cream

– Pre heat oven to Gas Mark 3, 170C or 325F.
– Line a brownie tin with baking parchment.
– Mix all the dry ingredients together, being sure to squish any lumps in the sugar and to seive in the cocoa to get out the lumps.
– Warm the milk, butter and syrup together until all melted.
– Add the milk, etc. to the dry ingredients and beat well.
– Stir in the chocolate chips. 
– Pour the mixture into the tin and smooth out so even. 
– Bake until set but spongy, check after 30 mins and test with a skewer and play by ear.
– Take out of the oven and leave to cool completely on a rack, still in its paper but out of the tin.  Put it back in the tin before adding the ganache. 

– Melt the chocolate in a pyrex bowl over a small pan of boiling water. 
– Take the bowl off the pan and add the cream and beat it all together like a demon! Keep beating! It will go all weird and oily and gross, KEEP BEATING!
– Once it comes together into a nice, smooth, glossy ganache (though you thought it never would!) simply pour it over the cake, use a spatula and wiggle it a bit to smooth it out and then leave to set.

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