Chocolate & Coffee Tray Cake

This traybake is super-easy, can be prepared in advance and cuts into even portions. It's perfect for birthday parties or bake sales

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 185ml vegetable oil, plus extra for the tin

• 250g Baker's Dream Flour

• 80g cocoa powder

• 2 ½ tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

• 325g brown sugar

• 250ml buttermilk

• 125ml coffee

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 2 large eggs

• Pinch of salt

Icing:

• 150g salted butter, softened

• 200g icing sugar

• 4 Tbsp cocoa powder

• 2 Tbsp milk

• Sprinkles, sweets, chocolate shavings or nuts, to decorate

Method:

Cake

1. Heat oven to 180°C. Line the base and sides of a 33cm x 23cm roasting tin or cake tin. Combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarb, sugar and a good pinch of salt in a large bowl. Rub any lumps of sugar between your fingers, shaking the bowl a few times to bring them to the surface.

2. Whisk the oil, buttermilk, coffee, vanilla and eggs in a jug, then pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Use a spatula to stir well, removing any pockets of flour. Pour the mixture into the lined tin and bake for 25-30 mins until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. If any wet cake mixture clings to the skewer, return the cake to the oven for 5 mins, then check again. Once cooked, remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for at least 20 mins.

Icing

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan, then remove from the heat and stir in the icing sugar, cocoa powder and milk. The icing will thicken as it cools.

2. Pour the icing over the cake and leave to set. Decorate with the sweets, sprinkles, chocolate shavings or nuts, then cut into squares and dig in.