The school dessert for all generations. School Cake is simple but a classic and easily enjoyed by all!
When you think of school dinner desserts, what is the one that comes to mind first. School cake is one that likely to spring to mind. A simple traybake cake that would be served with custard was a sweet treat that rounded off lunch just right as a kid. But why should kids have all the fun. You can easily make school cake at home and enjoy whenever you need that touch of nostalgia.
As school cake is a traybake, it is great for serving to a crowd. This means it is an ideal choice for gatherings, parties, or bake sales. Its soft, vanilla sponge topped with icing and a generous sprinkle of colourful hundreds and thousands makes it as visually cheerful as it is delicious. Whether you’re recreating childhood memories or introducing this classic to a new generation, school cake is a simple, crowd-pleasing treat that’s sure to bring smiles all around.
Star Ingredient
What makes school cake is the vanilla. The vanilla is what takes a classic Victoria sponge and turns it into a school cake sponge. Vanilla brings a warm, comforting flavour that elevates this traybake’s simplicity to something truly special. It lends a delicate sweetness and aromatic depth to the light sponge, making every bite a reminder of school lunchtimes. Paired with the sweet icing and colourful sprinkles, vanilla’s subtle yet rich profile ties everything together, creating a cake that’s as delightful to taste as it is to remember.
How to Purchase Ingredients to be Conscious to the Planet
A school cake is essential a Victoria sponge cake made with vanilla. Therefore, it only requires a handful of basic baking store cupboard staples. You can find most even in supermarkets without plastic.
Caster and icing sugar along with self-raising flour come in paper bags when shop in supermarkets or traditional food shops. You can also select the eggs in cardboard cartons. Sugar and flour are great baking picks to purchase at refill shops. You buy in bulk, not have lots of individual bags depending on your container.
Choose a vanilla that comes in glass bottles. Littlepod is a good option. Alternatively, some refill shops do stock vanilla extract as a refill. Check out my A-Z zero waste baking ingredient guide to find out some that do. If not have a try making your own (you will need a few months before you can use).
If you don’t want to make your own sprinkles, try pick up some that you come out of plastic bags or tubs. Lissie Lou has a wide range of sprinkles that come in compostable pouches. You can then either pop into their reusable tins or glass jars you already have.
Equipment You Will Need
- Rectangle Baking Tin 29cm by 42cm by 4cm / 16.5” by 11.4” by 1.6”
- Baking Parchment Paper
- Freestanding Mixer or Large Bowl with Handheld Mixer
- Spatula
- Metal Spoon Optional
- Cooling Rack
- Bowl
- Spoon
- Angled Palette Knife (optional)
Tips and Tricks When Baking School Cake
Scrapping Down you Bowl
This is a large cake batter, so it is important to ensure everything is evenly incorporated. Scrapping the cake mix should happen throughout the process. Scrape down the bowl when creaming the sugar and butter ensure that there are not lumps of just butter. Scraping during the egg additions helps with the mix not becoming curdled.
Adding in the Eggs
As it’s a large mix there are a lot of eggs. When adding in lots of eggs you can find your mix curdles. To limit or stop the curdling, add in a rough tablespoon of flour with each egg addition from egg 3. Even if it does curdle a little, it will be sort itself out when the rest of the flour is added.
Folding in the Flour
Flour in flour should never be down with a wooden spoon. I was also taught to do with a metal spoon. I switch between using a metal spoon and spatula now adays. The thinner edges of both aids in the cut through of the fold.
I also add in a tablespoon of just boiled water. Its possibly just over as I fill the large metal spoon that I fold in the flour with. It was something I was taught to do when making any sponge. The boiling water helps with the raise of the cake whilst baking.
Making up the Icing and Spreading it
Icing sugar can vary with how much water it needs depending on time of year and weather. As a result, when making up the icing, don’t add all the water in at once. I would say you can add in 6 tablespoons in fairly swift succession. After that add in the rest as teaspoons. You can also add a bit more if you if you feel you need it. Make sure not to make the icing too runny as it will just run off down the sides.
When it comes to spreading the icing, I would recommend a using an angled palette. As it is a thick icing, the palette knife is less likely to drag the top of the cake. Do be swift when spreading. The thicker icing sets quicker, increasing the chance the cake could drag, and crumbs may show in the finished icing.
The school cake that I use to have would have white icing, but it can also be pastel colours. Some schools may have a pastel pink colour icing. If you want to create a coloured icing, you could use beetroot powder to get that a pastel pink. Similar, I used sprinkles that I have to hand. The traditional option would be the multi colour sprinkle stands. Use the sprinkles you have, or have fun making them up with different colours and styles.
School Cake
Equipment
- Rectangle Baking Tin 29cm by 42cm by 4cm / 16.5” by 11.4” by 1.6”
- Baking Parchment Paper
- Freestanding Mixer or Large Bowl with Handheld Mixer
- Spatula
- Metal Spoon Optional
- Cooling rack
- Bowl
- Spoon
- Angled Palette Knife (optional)
Ingredients
Cake:
- 500 g Butter / Plant Butter / Margarine
- 500 g Caster Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract / Vanilla Paste
- 10 Eggs
- 500 g Self Raising Flour
Icing:
- 600 g Icing Sugar
- 7 2/3 Tablespoons Water
Decoration:
- Sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170 degrees.
- Line your baking tin with baking parchment paper.
- In a bowl of a freestanding mixer, cream together the sugar and butter until pale and fluffy.
- Add in the vanilla and the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Add in the flour along with a tablespoon of boiling water, and fold through until no flour is visible.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared baking tin, and spread out so it reaches all edges.
- Bake in the oven for 40 minutes, until springs back when touched and a skewer comes out clean.
- Remove the tin from the oven and pop onto a cooling rack to cool.
- Once cool remove from the baking tin.
- Once the cake is cool, making up the icing.
- In a bowl, pop the icing sugar and add in the water gradually mixing with a spoon, until you have the consistency of soft toothpaste.
- Spread the icing over the top of cake right to the edges.
- Quickly sprinkle over the sprinkles before the icing sets.
- Once the icing has set, cut into 4 along the short side and then 6 along the long sides.
- Enjoy as is or serving with hot custard.
Some of the links within this post may be affiliate links, meaning if you make a purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. These commissions help support the work I do here at Plastic Free Baking Pantry, allowing me to continue sharing delicious recipes and sustainable living tips with you. Rest assured, I only recommend products and services that I personally use and love. Thank you for your support!
Leave a Reply