Mary Berry's easy chocolate traybake recipe is a 'great cake for birthday parties'

Chocolate cake is a heavenly treat when done right, a dessert so good you don't want to share. Mary Berry's easy chocolate cake, which can quite simply be baked in a tray, is a favourite of home bakers.

The icing isn't fussy either, but you can jazz it up with hundreds and thousands, chocolate strands, or gold pearls to make it fit for an occasion. The recipe has garnered over 60 four-star reviews on Good Food, with the description reading: "Mary Berry's chocolate traybake is topped with a milk chocolate icing feathered with white chocolate. This is a great cake to share at a birthday party. Decorate it as you like."

Mary Berry chocolate cake traybake recipe

Ingredients:

50g cocoa powder

Six tablespoons of boiling water

100g baking spread or butter

275g caster sugar

Three large eggs

125ml milk

175g self-raising flour

One teaspoon of baking powder

Method

Blending the cocoa and boiling water in a bowl until you achieve a smooth mixture.

Incorporate the baking spread or butter into the cocoa mix until silky, then fold in the remaining cake ingredients.

Stir everything together before transferring the batter into the tin and bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until the cake begins to pull away from the sides.

Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn it out and remove the parchment. Glaze the top of the cake with apricot jam using a pastry brush, then set aside to cool completely.

For the icing, heat the cream in a small saucepan and then mix in the milk chocolate until it's completely melted and smooth.

Allow it to cool slightly before pouring the icing over the cake, spreading it evenly with a palette knife.

If you're making the feather decoration, melt 100g of white chocolate and transfer it into a piping bag or sandwich bag, cutting off the end.

Pipe lines down the cake about 1cm apart and then, using a cocktail stick, drag through the white chocolate in alternating directions.