Saturday 21 August 2010

chocolate tray bake



I have to be honest, choosing the first recipe for kitchen & aroma was a thinker (first impression, you know). There are simply too many recipes to choose from. When discussing this with my foodie friend, CafeSigrun, we agreed that it had to be something simple and definitely have the word chocolate in it. So, we agreed on my chocolate tray bake. It's simple and it's easy to prepare, and the most important thing: it's delicious! The photo of the frosting may also be familiar to some as it has been on the Facebook and Twitter profiles. I like making my own recipes and sometimes, as with this one, the first try is a hit. My daughter Maria asked me so kindly to make a chocolate cake with no almonds, nuts, or dates (common ingredients in healthy cake recipes) and it seems as if I delivered 100%. I hope you like it as much as we and our friends do. The recipe contains no butter and there is only one tablespoon of coconut oil in the base. The cake is rather small but in my opinion chocolate tray bakes are very filling; I at least can never eat much of them.

CHOCOLATE TRAY BAKE, BASE

INGREDIENTS

  • 100 g raw cane sugar (½ cup)
  • 1 large egg, free-range or organic
  • 1½ tablespoons pure maple syrup or agave syrup
  • optional: 1 tablespoon coffee, hot or cold (I use a rather strong brew)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (from a health food store)
  • 1 tablespoons coconut oil (if solid, place the jar in a bowl of hot water before use)
  • 130 g spelt flour (1 cup)
  • 3-3½ tablespoons cocoa powder, organic/fair-trade
  • 2 teaspoon baking powder, gluten free (1 tsp if using regular)
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 5 tablespoons (75 ml) plain or Greek yoghurt
  • 4-5 tablespoons (60-75 ml) lukewarm water
  • desiccated coconut for decoration

METHOD

  1. In a large bowl, mix together the sugar, egg, agave syrup, coffee, vanilla essence and coconut oil thoroughly with a whisk, and then add the yoghurt
  2. In a medium bowl, sift the spelt flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt, and pour into the wet mixture. Mix the water in, one tablespoon at a time. Do not stir, just use the spatula to gently fold the dry ingredients in until there is no flour remaining at the bottom
  3. Line a 25 cm/10 in square baking tray with baking parchment, pour the batter into it and use a spatula to even it out (the height of the baking tray should be about 5 cm/2 in)
  4. Place in the oven and allow to bake for 24-28 minutes at 170-175°C/325°C/gas mark 3. Make the frosting while the cake is in the oven
  5. Allow to cool in the baking tray on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before adding the frosting, then sprinkle with desiccated coconut

CHOCOLATE FROSTING

This is an easy to make chocolate frosting that I especially put together for my chocolate tray bake. I recommend preparing the frosting while the tray bake is in the oven.

INGREDIENTS

  • 3 tablespoons fine raw cane sugar
  • 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 2 tablespoons coffee, hot or cold
  • 1-2 tablespoons water
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract or organic vanilla sugar
  • 2½ teaspoons agave syrup or pure maple syrup
  • ½ teaspoon coconut oil
  • pinch of fine sea salt

METHOD

  1. In a small bowl, mix the cocoa and sugar with a spoon
  2. Add the vanilla essence, coffee and water and stir gently
  3. Add the agave syrup and coconut oil, then the salt to taste. The texture of the frosting should be smooth and spreadable
  4. Allow the frosting to remain in the bowl at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before covering the cake

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