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    Home | Recipes | Bakes

    The Ultimate Creme Egg Tray Bake

    Mar 24, 2019 by Lou Carruthers | This post may contain affiliate links.

    231 shares

    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.

    Jump to Recipe
    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.

    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'll admit I can be a little lazy when it comes to tray bakes and use a standard sponge recipe, rather than an American oil-based recipe.

    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.

    Take me to the tray bake already!

    Table of Contents
    • Before you go-on, take note...
    • How to keep your Creme Egg tray bake moist
    • Top tips for baking your Creme Egg tray bake
    • Looking for more inspiration
    • Pin Creme Egg Tray Bake
    • Recipe

    If you want to skip the essential info and handy tips for making the ultimate Creme Egg tray bake, then head down to the printable recipe card.

    Before you go-on, take note...

    Now I'm going to give you a heads up here. This recipe is very wet. In fact, you can just pour the batter straight into the baking tray, no smoothing over with a spatula required. It's the most liquidy cake batter that I've ever made.

    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 tiger with that mouse scrolling and take note.

    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.

    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.

    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.

    Recommended Equipment

    Brownie Pan

    Brownie Pan
    Buy now >

    Mini Creme Eggs

    Mini Creme Eggs
    Buy now >

    Intense Cocoa Powder

    Intense Cocoa Powder
    Buy now >

    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

    Have you made this recipe?

    I'd love to hear what you think, so please post a comment and star rating below. You can also share a picture on Instagram, don't forget to tag me @crumbscorkscrews!

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    Recipe

    Creme Egg Tray Bake

    5 from 8 votes
    Servings: 16 slices
    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!
    Author: Lou Carruthers
    Print Recipe Save Recipe Recipe Saved Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 15 mins
    Cook Time 40 mins
    Total Time 55 mins

    Ingredients
     

    For the Tray Bake

    • 80 ml Vegetable Oil
    • 160 ml Semi-skimmed Milk
    • 2 Eggs medium
    • 150 g Plain Flour
    • 250 g Light Brown Sugar
    • 55 g Cocoa Powder
    • 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
    • 150 ml Hot Water

    To Decorate

    • 2 tablespoon Icing or Powdered Sugar
    • 2 tablespoon Cocoa Powder
    • 5 tablespoon Cold Water
    • Creme Eggs Regular and Mini sized
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions
     

    • Preheat oven to 180C/350F and 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.

    YOUR OWN NOTES

    Click here to add your own private notes.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1sliceCalories: 229kcalCarbohydrates: 26gProtein: 3gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 21mgSodium: 18mgPotassium: 140mgFiber: 2gSugar: 17gVitamin A: 40IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 45mgIron: 1mg

    Disclaimer

    The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.

    Did you make this recipe? Mention @crumbscorkscrews or tag #crumbscorkscrews!

    Copyright © 2021 Crumbs and Corkscrews. Unauthorised use and/ or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site's author and/ or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Crumbs and Corkscrews with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

    « Easter Mini Egg Cupcakes
    Vanilla Easter Cupcakes »
    231 shares

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Michelle Rolfe

      March 09, 2020 at 12:49 pm

      5 stars
      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

      Reply
      • Lou Carruthers

        March 11, 2020 at 8:47 pm

        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!

    2. Chloe Edges

      March 08, 2020 at 10:37 pm

      5 stars
      Cor blimey lovaduck! I'm in!

      Reply
      • Lou Carruthers

        March 11, 2020 at 8:46 pm

        Haha! Excellent, glad you love it!

    3. Jenny Walters

      March 08, 2020 at 12:38 pm

      5 stars
      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

      Reply
      • Lou Carruthers

        March 11, 2020 at 8:46 pm

        Thanks Jenny! It's definitely a fun bake and also an easy one to make with children. Hope you have fun making it!

    4. Lou Carruthers

      March 24, 2019 at 10:00 am

      5 stars
      Love this tray bake - it's so simple and delicious!

      Reply

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