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    Home » Recipes » Cakes, biscuits and dessert recipes

    Quick-mix chocolate cake traybake

    Published: Jul 13, 2020 · Modified: Jun 16, 2024 by VJ · This post may contain affiliate links · Leave a Comment

    Jump to recipe

    You only need 4 steps to make this easy quick-mix chocolate cake traybake. And to make it even easier, you use part of the cake mixture for the frosting!

    Squares of quick mix chocolate cake on a glass plate.
    Jump to:
    • Quick-mix chocolate cake traybake
    • How to make a quick-mix chocolate cake
    • To store
    • Variations
    • Save for later
    • Related recipes
    • 📋The recipe

    Quick-mix chocolate cake traybake

    I've been making this quick-mix chocolate cake tray bake for years, and it never fails. What I love about it is that you don't have to mix the frosting separately - you just set some of the cake batter aside (before you mix in the flour) and pour that over the chocolate cake while it is still warm. The frosting soaks into the top of the cake forming a deliciously moist, slightly gooey topping. All you need to do after that is drizzle with melted white chocolate and you have a cake that looks as though you spent hours on it.

    It's perfect for sharing with friends at the office because you can just transport it still in the baking tray. And if you cover with coloured sprinkles instead of drizzling with white chocolate, it makes an ideal cake for children's parties, because you can cut the cake into whatever sized slices you need.

    I personally think there is enough chocolate flavour in the basic cake mix, but if you want to add even more chocolate you can mix in a handful of chocolate chips before baking.

    This deliciously moist chocolate cake is made in only 4 steps. Read on to see how easy it is.

    How to make a quick-mix chocolate cake

    As I mentioned, this cake is made in only 4 steps.

    • Melt the butter with the milk, sugar and cocoa (and reserve some for the frosting)
    • Beat in the egg yolks
    • Mix in the flour and baking powder
    • Fold in the beaten egg whites.
    Collage of 4 images showing the cocoa and butter being melted and the eggs being added.
    Step 1

    Place the milk, sugar and cocoa powder in a saucepan and stir gently over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Do not allow it to boil. Add the butter and allow it to melt. Remove ½ cup of the mixture and set aside. This will be poured over the baked cake. Allow to cool, then transfer to a mixing bowl.

    Step 2

    Separate the eggs and add the yolks to the mixture. Beat gently to combine.

    Collage of 4 images showing the flour and beaten egg white being added to the cake.
    Step 3

    Sift in the flour and baking powder into the egg and chocolate mixture and mix in.

    Step 4

    Whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form then carefully fold the egg whites into the cake batter. Add a spoonful at a time and mix in until just combined. Do not beat.

    Bake

    Collage of 4 images showing the steps to bake and frost the cake.

    Grease a 9" x 9" baking tray with a little butter and pour the batter into the tray. You will need quite a deep tray to hold all the batter.

    Bake in a preheated oven (180F / 350C) for 35 to 40 minutes. Test that the cake is cooked by inserting a wooden skewer or toothpick into the cake. If it comes out cleanly then the cake is done.

    Pour the reserved chocolate mixture over the cake while it is still hot and then allow it to cool.

    Decorate

    The chocolate cake decorated with drizzles of white chocolate.

    Remove the cake from the baking tray and drizzle with melted white chocolate.

    To melt the chocolate, place squares of white chocolate in a plastic bag and heat gently in the microwave until softened. In my microwave, I heated the chocolate on full power for 30 seconds and it wasn't quite melted, so I heated it again for another 30 seconds.

    Once the chocolate has melted, squeeze it into the corner of the plastic bag and snip off the corner. Then use the plastic bag as a piping bag to drizzle the chocolate over the cake.

    Cut into squares, and serve.

    Overhead shot of squares of chocolate cake.

    To store

    This chocolate cake will stay fresh for up to 3 days if kept in an airtight container in the kitchen. There is no need to refrigerate.

    If you'd like to be notified of new recipes, why not subscribe to my newsletter? To say thank you, you will receive a free recipe e-book containing some of my most popular cakes and desserts.

    Variations

    Instead of drizzling the cake with white chocolate, why not try one of these toppings

    • Coloured sprinkles (hundreds and thousands)
    • Chocolate vermicelli
    • Crushed nuts

    You can also add a handful of chocolate chips after the flour has been mixed in, before folding in the egg whites.

    Save for later

    Why not pin this quick-mix chocolate cake recipe to one of your Pinterest boards so you can find it easily? Just click the image below.

    Alternatively, you can save the recipe by clicking on the floating heart icon on the right-hand side of the screen.

    Related recipes

    Visit my cakes, biscuits and dessert recipes page for other tasty bakes. Here are a few you may enjoy:

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    📋The recipe

    Squares of quick mix chocolate cake on a glass plate.

    Chocolate Cake Tray Bake

    You only need 4 steps to make this easy quick mix chocolate cake tray bake. And to make it even easier, you use part of the cake mixture for the frosting! To make it even more special, drizzle with white chocolate when cooled.
    Recipe by: Veronica
    Baking
    Any
    Calories 266
    Prep 10 minutes minutes
    Cook 35 minutes minutes
    Total Time 45 minutes minutes
    Servings: 1 9" square cake
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    5 from 1 vote

    (Click the stars to rate this recipe)

    Equipment

    • 9" x 9" cake pan
    • Mixing bowl
    • Saucepan
    • Whisk

    Ingredients

    • ½ cup milk
    • ½ cup (50g) cocoa powder
    • 1½ cups (300g) sugar
    • 1 cup (225g) butter
    • 4 large eggs
    • 1½ cups (210g) all purpose flour / cake flour
    • 2 teaspoons baking powder
    • 2 ounces (60g) white chocolate

    Instructions

    • Pre-heat oven to 180°F / 350°C
    • Place the milk, sugar and cocoa powder in a saucepan and stir gently over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Do not allow to boil
    • Add the butter and allow to melt. Stir well.
    • Remove ½ cup of the mixture and set aside to reserve for the cake topping.
    • Transfer the remaining mixture to a mixing bowl and allow to cool.
    • Separate the eggs and mix the yolks into the mixture.
    • Sift the flour and baking powder into the mixture and mix well to combine.
    • Beat the egg whites to soft peaks and fold into the mixture one spoonful at a time. Do not beat.
    • Grease a 9" x 9" baking dish with a little butter and pour the batter into the dish.
    • Place the baking dish into a pre-heated oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a wooden skewer inserted into the cake comes out cleanly.
    • Pour the reserved chocolate mixture over the cake while it is still hot and and then allow to cool.
    • Drizzle the cooled cake with melted white chocolate to decorate.

    Notes

     
    Variations
    Try one of these different toppings -
    • Coloured sprinkles (hundreds and thousands)
    • Chocolate vermicilli
    • Crushed nuts
    Or add a handful of chocolate chips after the flour has been mixed, but before folding in the egg whites.
     
    Calories have been calculated based on cutting the cake into 16 squares.

    Nutrition

    Calories - 266kcal | Carbohydrates - 33g | Protein - 4.2g | Fat - 14.7g | Saturated Fat - 18.8g | Cholesterol - 78mg | Sodium - 108mg | Potassium - 222mg | Fiber - 1.7g | Sugar - 21.4g | Calcium - 60mg | Iron - 2mg

    I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.

    Unless otherwise stated, a cup is the standard US cup containing 240 ml. In all my recipes this cup is assumed to hold 140g of flour. For help converting other ingredients between cups, grams, ounces and other measures, see my recipe conversion calculator.
    All my recipes are developed and tested at sea-level. For tips on adjusting recipes for high altitudes see my post on baking at high altitudes.
    Tried this recipe?If you made this recipe I'd love it if you could leave me a comment and let me know how it went!
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    About VJ

    Before I started my food blog I was an IT Consultant. Now that I've swapped an office for a kitchen I have a lot more time to spend on things that interest me such as trying out new recipes. Most of my cooking is based around quick and easy meals, mostly made from scratch, using everyday pantry ingredients.

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