School dinner Cake

Do you have fond memories of school dinner cake? This simple vanilla sponge traybake topped with icing and sprinkles is a retro classic in the UK that’s loved by so many!

School cake couldn’t be easier to make and it’s a crowd pleaser – the whole family will love it.

For most people, the mere mention of school dinners can conjure up both good and bad memories, depending on your own personal experience.

I didn’t have school dinners very often. The Primary school I attended was just a 5 minute walk away from my house so I usually went home at lunchtime, but on the odd occasion, I had to stay at school for lunch.

the perfect cake for birthday parties

This retro vanilla sponge traybake is the perfect easy bake for parties and celebrations – and here’s a quick list of reasons why!

• it uses basic store cupboard ingredients

• The sponge doesn’t take that long to bake

• It’s such an easy cake to decorate you could leave the kids to do it. I let my toddler go nuts with the sprinkles for these photos – and why not?

ingredients for school dinner cake

• Baking margarine. I know I go on about using proper butter so much I must sound like a broken record, but for sponge cake, but in my opinion, there is nothing wrong with using a baking margarine such as Stork for cakes. It makes the lightest, fluffiest sponge! I always use margarine in my all-in-one Victoria sponge cake.

• Caster Sugar will give you a better texture and rise than normal granulated sugar. The finer grains of caster sugar dissolve much quicker into the butter, so it’s always a much better choice for baking. Having said that, if I only had granulated sugar in the cupboard, it wouldn’t stop me from making the recipe.

• Eggs – you will need 5 large eggs, at room temperature (not extra large)

• Vanilla extract.

• Self raising flour. You won’t need any extra raising agents for this recipe.

• If you only have plain flour in your cupboard, you could make your own self raising flour by adding 2 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder. Make sure you sift the flour and baking powder together before using.

The decoration

• Icing sugar, sifted to remove any lumps.

• Water to make the glacé icing.

• Coloured sprinkles of your choice. For that proper 1980’s look, I use the classic “hundred and thousands”. You’ll easily find them in most supermarkets around the UK.

step one – make the sponge

• Preheat your oven to 180C/160Fan/350F/gas Mark 4.

• Grease and line the base and sides of a 9×13 inch (with a depth of at least 2 inches) baking pan.

• Using an electric mixer or a wooden spoon, beat the butter and sugar together until very light, pale and fluffy.

• If you’re using an electric mixer this will take about 2-3 minutes or at least 5 minutes if you’re creaming by hand.

• Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until they are well incorporated into the mixture.

• Beat in the vanilla extract. Using a large metal spoon, fold in the flour, being careful not to overbeat the batter.

• Halfway through folding the mixture, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a plastic scraper.

step two – time to bake

• Carefully scrape the cake batter into the prepared tin.

• Level the top and bake for 40-45 minutes or until the cake is risen, golden and springs back when lightly pressed in the centre.

• Transfer the tin to a wire cooling rack and allow the cake to cool completely in the tin.

Step three – Decorate the cake

• Sieve the icing sugar into a large bowl. Add the water, a little at a time while constantly stirring, until you have a thick but pourable icing.

• Pour the icing over the cold cake. Decorate with the sprinkles – as little or as many as your heart desires!

Troubleshooting

Why has my sponge cake sunk in the Middle?

A sunken cake is usually due to three main issues. It could be either –

• The cake was removed from the oven before it was fully baked, causing it to sink in the middle

• The batter was overmixed

• The oven temperature was too high. If the oven is too hot, this can cause a cake to rise in the middle too quickly, making it collapse before it has fully baked. An oven thermometer will help you with this problem.

• The oven door was opened while the cake was baking