Make Your Own Classic School Dinner Cake

Is there anything more nostalgic than a School Dinner Cake. That fluffy vanilla sponge topped with thick white icing and hundreds and thousands sprinkles. Drowning in custard is the best thing to finish it off.

The sponge is an all in one vanilla sponge, you add the dry ingredients, eggs, butter and milk. Mix it all together until light and fluffy and bake. It’s really as simple as that. The recipe calls for unsalted butter however it will work just as well with a baking margarine such as Stork.

The icing is super easy too. Icing sugar and water. It needs to be pretty thick though so that it stays on top of the cake. We’d recommend adding the water drop by drop to ensure you don’t add too much. Don’t worry if this happens though, you could just add a little more icing sugar until you get the right consistency. If you really want to jazz it up, why not try a flavoured icing sugar or add a little bit of flavouring.

1. Preheat the oven to 180c/160c fan/gas mark 4. Grease and line a 20cmx20cm square tin and leave to one side.
2. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients for the sponge. Mix together with a wooden spoon or an electric mixer and beat until the batter is smooth, light and creamy.
3. Transfer into the prepared tin and level until smooth. Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until the sponge has come away from the edges of the tin and a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 20 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
4. Once the cake has cooled, move to a board or place and begin to make the icing. Mix the icing sugar with water, adding very gradually until it reaches a thick but spreadable consistency. Pour the icing onto the sponge, allowing it to slightly drip down the sides.
5. Whilst the icing is still wet sprinkle with the hundreds and thousands. Allow the icing to set slightly before cutting into 9 squares and serving on its own or with warm custard.