chocolate TRAYBAKE with ganache icing

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This is quite the best chocolate cake around. Make in a traybake tin, as here, or in two 20cm (8-inch) sandwich tins.

CUTS into 24 pieces

100 g (4 oz) butter, softened, plus more for the tin

50g (2 oz) cocoa powder

6 tablespoons boiling water

3 eggs

4 tablespoons milk

175g (6 oz) self-raising flour

1 rounded teaspoon baking powder

300g (10 oz) caster sugar

FOR THE GANACHE ICING

150g (5 oz) Bournville chocolate or similar

150ml (5fl oz) double cream

3 tablespoons apricot jam, warmed

Preheat the oven to 180°C/160° fan/gas 5. Butter and line a traybake tin or small roasting tin with foil about 30 x 23 cm (12 x 9 inches).

Sieve the cocoa powder into a bowl. Add the boiling water and mix together to a smooth paste. Add the 100g (4 oz) butter, the eggs, milk, flour, baking powder and sugar, and mix together using a hand mixer. Turn into the lined traybake tin and level the top.

Bake in the oven for about 20 – 25 minutes, until well risen and shrinking away from the edges. Leave to cool while making the icing.

image The cake can be made and iced up to 48 hours ahead and kept in the fridge. The cake freezes well iced or un-iced; we prefer to freeze un-iced and then ice fresh on the day.

To make the icing: in a bowl over a pan of just-simmering water, melt the chocolate in the double cream until smooth and runny. Stir and leave to cool and thicken up to an icing consistency.

Spread the jam over the cake, then spread over the icing and smooth with a palette knife. Cut into pieces to serve.

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AGA COOKING Bake on the grid shelf on the floor of the roasting oven with the cold sheet on the second set of runners for about 30 – 35 minutes, until shrinking away from the sides of the tin and springy to the touch.