Bake up a gooey chocolate delight for Easter with this Creme Egg tray bake. Moist and rich chocolate cake, coated in a chocolate icing and smashed Creme Eggs on top. Utterly addictive.
It's no secret, I'd quite happily exist on chocolate for eternity. Alas, the nutritional value of chocolate isn't something that would sustain me, whenever there's the opportunity for chocolate baking then I'm going to take it.
With our New York trip on the horizon, I'd been thinking more and more about creating an American style tray bake; moister and more squidgy than a British one. That's not to say our tray bakes are dry, they're not.
I
Before you go-on, take note...
Now I'm going to give you a heads up here. This
I'm telling you this now because if you skip down to the recipe and plough straight ahead, you might be in for a shock. So slow down
I was very sceptical that such a wet cake batter would give me anything other than a sloppy mess, that would require extra baking and end up dry and crispy on the edges and just about baked in the middle.
But I was wrong!
On a mission to prove that this wasn't a one-off, I tested the recipe several times. Every time I took the cake out of the oven, the same results. Perfectly baked. Nailed it! The moral here is appearances can be deceptive.
How to keep your Creme Egg tray bake moist
This Creme Egg tray bake is the lightest richest and definitely not stodgy chocolate cake I've had the delight eating. The volume of water and oil used in the cake batter certainly helps it achieve the moistness. But you can't rely on that alone.
One of the key things to remember when baking this Creme Egg tray bake is not to overcook it. Keeping your eye on the oven temperature and timer is what helps the tray bake retain its moisture, giving a light and springy sponge, that's different to a regular chocolate cake.
But don't worry, there's nothing really that can go wrong. And the real beauty of the bake is as it's all in one bowl, there's hardly any washing up to do. Bonus!
Top tips for baking your Creme Egg tray bake
So before you get going, here are a few pointers to help you on your way.
- Don't panic if you think your cake batter is too runny; it's not
. - Don't over-bake your Creme Egg tray bake, you want it to be moist and light, so it springs back when you gently press down on it.
- And on that note, don't under-bake it either. You don't want it falling apart or worse when you try and take it out of the baking tin.
- As always, let the tray bake cool before lifting out of the baking tin. Once it is completely cool you can get cracking on decorating.
- Try smashing a mixture of the mini and regular Creme Eggs on top of the tray bake, so that you get different sizes of chocolate.
- You could swap the chocolate icing for a chocolate frosting if you prefer, but remember to make sure the tray bake is completely cooled before icing.
Looking for more inspiration
Fancy some other Easter recipes? Then how about these
- The Ultimate Creme Egg Cake
- Quick and simple Easter chocolate bark
- White chocolate Mini Egg cupcakes
- Vanilla Easter Cupcakes
- Fresh and zingy Lemon and Gin Curd
Pin Creme Egg Tray Bake
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The Ultimate Creme Egg Tray Bake
Bake up a gooey chocolate delight for Easter with this Creme Egg traybake. Moist and rich chocolate cake, coated in a chocolate icing and smashed Creme Eggs on top. Utterly addictive!
Ingredients
For the Tray Bake
- 80ml Vegetable Oil
- 160ml Semi-skimmed Milk
- 2 Eggs, medium
- 150g Plain Flour
- 250g Light Brown Sugar
- 55g Cocoa Powder
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 150ml Hot Water
To Decorate
- 2 tbsp Icing or Powdered Sugar
- 2 tbsp Cocoa Powder
- 4-5 tbsp Cold Water
- Creme Eggs, Regular and Mini sized
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F
- Line a brownie tray or tray bake tin, no bigger than 12" x 9", with baking parchment.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the oil, milk and eggs, and whisk together until light and fluffy with a hand mixer. Alternatively, you can whisk everything together in a stand mixture.
- In another large mixing bowl, sieve together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder and baking powder.
- Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and pour in the whisked egg mixture. Mix all together until you have a smooth batter.
- Gradually add the hot water to the batter, mixing well until all the water is combined. The mix will be very runny.
- Bake the tray bake for 30-40 minutes, until a sharp knife or skewer comes out clean. The cake is moist but should spring back if you lightly press down on it.
- Cool the tray bake on a wire rack before decorating.
- To decorate, in a small mixing bowl, add the icing sugar and cocoa powder, and gradually add the cold water, until you have a smooth and slightly runny paste.
- Pour the icing over the cooled tray bake and smooth with a palette knife.
- Smash the Creme Eggs into pieces and sprinkle over the iced tray bake - try and spread some of that Creme Egg goo over the top as well.
Notes
The Creme Egg Tray Bake will stay fresh for up to 3 days in an air-tight container, or you can freeze it for up to 3 months. If you do decide to freeze it, cut it up into portions first and wrap in baking parchment, and just defrost a slice when you're ready.
To serve the Creme Egg tray bake, you can either eat it all on its own or add vanilla ice cream as a dessert.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 16 Serving Size: 1 SliceAmount Per Serving: Calories: 208Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 33mgSodium: 58mgCarbohydrates: 35gFiber: 1gSugar: 25gProtein: 3g
Michelle Rolfe
My kids would love this as they love creme eggs! I used to have to ration them out when they were little. Thanks for linking up to #CookBlogShare. Michelle
Lou Carruthers
Thanks Michelle! Oooo rationing Creme Eggs, that's an idea I might need to do for myself... they just seem to vanish around me. Hehe!
Chloe Edges
Cor blimey lovaduck! I'm in!
Lou Carruthers
Haha! Excellent, glad you love it!
Jenny Walters
What a brilliant bake! My children would absolutely love it! I have definitely earmarked this one for some fun baking. Thanks so much for sharing with #CookBlogShare
Lou Carruthers
Thanks Jenny! It's definitely a fun bake and also an easy one to make with children. Hope you have fun making it!
Lou Carruthers
Love this tray bake - it's so simple and delicious!