Classic School Cake
Our classic school cake is a proper nostalgic bake! There’s a fluffy vanilla sponge, a simple white icing & plenty of sprinkles. This one’s great with custard.
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If you went to a British school, chances are that you’ve had this cake before as part of a school dinner. Although you’re seriously missing out if you haven’t! It’s a simple tray bake that’s super tasty & incredibly easy to make. It’s a guaranteed crowd pleaser…
For our classic school cake, we’re making a fluffy vanilla sheet cake then topping it with a quick white icing & loads of rainbow sprinkles. Then for a real hit of nostalgia, I like to serve it with some homemade vanilla custard! Although it’s great on its’ own as well.
For more cakes & bakes, check out our ever growing collection of baking recipes! There’s lots to choose from here, from classic sponge cakes to brownies, cookies & blondies.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe!
- It’s incredibly easy to make & will keep for several days.
- Adding sour cream to the cake batter makes it extra moist & flavourful.
- It’s guaranteed nostalgia! Especially when served with custard.
What You’ll Need
- Sprinkles – Any brand of rainbow sprinkles will work. The ones that I use come from Get Baked supplies.
- Butter – Make sure to use unsalted butter, to avoid making the cake batter too salty. Or if you’re using salted butter, use a quarter teaspoon of table salt instead of three quarters.
- Sugar – You’ll need 2 types of sugar for this recipe. Caster sugar for the cake batter & icing sugar for the icing.
- Eggs – We’re using large eggs for the cake batter. Each egg should weigh around 50 grams out of the shell. I’d recommend weighing the eggs into a jug as you crack them.
- Flour – The cake batter uses plain/all purpose flour.
- Raising Agents – We’re using both baking powder & bicarbonate of soda.
- Sour Cream – Adding sour cream to our cake batter adds extra fat, making the sponge moist & more flavourful. Make sure to use full fat sour cream.
- Vanilla – Using a good vanilla extract makes all the difference when making cakes!
- Milk – The icing for our school cake is made with milk & icing sugar. Water would work as well but I find that milk tastes better & gives a better finish.
How To Make Classic School Cake
Classic school cake is super easy to make & comes together in no time at all! Here, we’re making a simple vanilla sheet cake then topping it with a quick glace icing & loads of sprinkles…
Vanilla Sponge Cake
The key things when making a vanilla sponge are to beat the butter & sugar really well (use softened butter!), making sure to scrape the bowl down with a spatula regularly and avoiding over mixing the batter, as this can make the cake tough. Other than that, making this sheet cake couldn’t be easier!
- Beat Butter & Sugar
First, we add softened butter & caster sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer then beat until pale & fluffy. This will take around 5 minutes on a medium speed. - Combine Dry Ingredients
Whilst the butter is mixing, we add flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda & table salt into a separate bowl then whisk together. We set this aside for now. - Add In Eggs
Once the butter is ready, we gradually mix in beaten eggs & vanilla extract, with the mixer still running on a medium speed. - Fold In Flour & Sour Cream
Next, we gently fold in half of the dry ingredients with a spatula until just combined, followed by sour cream then the rest of the dry ingredients. Make sure to stop folding when everything is just combined – we don’t want to over mix the batter! Once mixed, the batter needs to be baked as soon as possible as the bicarb will have started to react. - Bake
Now that the batter is ready, we tip it into a greased & lined 9″ x 13″ baking tin then bake for 45-50 minutes in an oven that’s been preheated to 170°c/338°f. You’ll know when the cake is done when a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. - Cool
Once cooked, we let the cake cool in the tin for 10-15 minutes, to let it firm up slightly then we carefully transfer it to a wire cooling rack & let it cool completely before topping.
Glace Icing
The icing for our school cake is made by simply mixing sifted icing sugar & milk together. The icing needs to be thick enough to be spread on top of the cake so we add milk in gradually to get the consistency just right. Water could also be used instead of milk but I find that milk gives the icing a better flavour & finish.
To top our school cake, we spoon the icing on top then use a palette knife to spread it out to the edges. Then to finish, we sprinkle loads of rainbow sprinkles over the icing! The icing then needs to set, which will take at least an hour at room temperature. But if your kitchen is particularly warm, you may want to chill the cake in the fridge for 20 minutes or so.
Cutting Into Portions
I find that a sharp, serrated knife works best when cutting the cake into pieces. I also like to trim the edges of the cake slightly first, to neaten it up but that’s optional!
School Cake & Custard
School cake & custard is a classic British school dinner dessert! Here, sponge cake is served with custard; either vanilla sponge with vanilla custard or chocolate sponge with pink custard (raspberry or strawberry flavour). Our school cake goes rather well with my charred vanilla custard (regular vanilla works as well!).
Frequently Asked Questions
School cake is best eaten within 3 days of being made & should be stored in an airtight container. If the icing is made with milk, the cake will need to be stored in the fridge but served at room temperature.
School cake can sink if the oven door is opened too soon or if the sponge is under cooked. To prevent the cake from sinking, let it bake for at least 35 minutes before opening the door & bake the cake until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
Both water & milk will work for glace icing. Milk will make the icing sweeter & richer whereas water will make the icing thinner & not as sweet. For an even richer icing, double cream can also be used.
Sour cream is added to cake batter to add fat, which makes the cake moister once baked. And because sour cream is acidic, bicarbonate of soda can also be used as well as baking powder (bicarb needs acidity to be activated).
School cake is cooked when a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. The sponge will be golden brown & will spring back when lightly pressed.
Although not essential, it is a lot easier to make school cake with a stand mixer. However if you don’t have a stand mixer, an electric hand mixer will work or you could even use a wooden spoon & a mixing bowl.
How To Cook School Cake In An Aga
With all of my recipes, I include cooking instructions for conventional ovens, fan ovens & also Agas. Here’s how to cook this recipe on an Aga…
To cook school cake in an Aga, bake the cake on a grid shelf placed onto the floor of the baking oven. Slide a cold plain shelf onto the second from top set of runners just before baking the cake & leave it there for the duration of the bake.
Equipment Used
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More Baking Recipes To Try!
- Tres Leches Cake (3 Milk Cake)
- Brown Butter & Miso Pecan Pie Bars
- Chocolate Loaf Cake With Dark Chocolate Ganache
- Brown Butter Oreo Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Sour Cream Pound Cake With Vanilla Bean Icing
- Black Tahini Chocolate Sheet Cake
Watch How To Make This Recipe
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Classic School Cake
Equipment
- 9" x 13" Baking Tin
- Stand Mixer
- Mixing Bowl
- Palette Knife
- Skewer
- Wire Cooling Rack
Ingredients
Sponge Cake
- 325 g Unsalted Butter (Softened)
- 350 g Caster Sugar
- 6 Large Eggs (See Notes)
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 325 g Plain Flour
- 2¼ tsp Baking Powder
- ½ tsp Bicarbonate Of Soda
- ¾ tsp Table Salt
- 200 g Sour Cream (Full Fat, At Room Temperature)
Icing
- 400 g Icing Sugar
- 4-5 tbsp Whole Milk
- Sprinkles
Instructions
Sponge Cake
- Preheat an oven to 170°c/150°c fan (338°f/302°f).
- Grease & line a 9"x13" baking tin with baking parchment then set to one side.
- Next, add the softened butter & caster sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer then beat with the paddle attachment until pale & fluffy. This will take around 5 minutes on a medium speed.Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl down regularly with a spatula, to ensure that you get an evenly mixed batter!
- Whilst the butter is mixing, crack the eggs into a jug then add in the vanilla & whisk together. Add the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda & salt into a separate mixing bowl then whisk to combine. I'd recommend weighing the eggs, you'll need 300 grams of whole egg in total.
- Once the butter is ready, gradually add in the eggs & vanilla with the mixer still running on a medium speed. Stop mixing as soon as the eggs have been incorporated & make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl down regularly.
- Next, take the bowl off the mixer & sift in half of the dry ingredients. Use a spatula to gently fold the flour into the butter, until mostly incorporated then fold in the sour cream, followed by the remaining flour.Make sure not to over mix the batter!
- Transfer the batter into the lined tin, use a palette knife to spread into an even layer then bake for 45-50 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. The cake will be golden brown & will spring back when lightly pressed.The batter needs to be baked as soon as it is mixed, as the bicarb will start to react.
- Once baked, let the cake cool in the tin for 10-15 minutes then carefully transfer to a wire cooling rack & leave to cool completely.
Icing
- Sift the icing sugar into a mixing bowl then gradually whisk in enough milk to make a thick icing.The icing needs to be thick enough to spread on top of the cake. If it becomes too thin, add in some more icing sugar.
- Next, spoon the icing on top of the cake then use a palette knife to spread out to the edges. Top with a generous amount of sprinkles then leave to set. This will take at least an hour.The icing should set at room temperature but if your kitchen is warm, you may need to stick the cake in the fridge for 20 minutes or so to firm the icing up.
- Once the icing is set, use a sharp serrated knife to cut into portions. I like to trim the edges slightly to neaten the cake up but this is optional.
