School Cake
A true British classic. My take on the popular old-fashioned School Cake. This simple, fluffy vanilla traybake is topped with icing and lots of colourful sprinkles!
Servings 16
Ingredients
- 300 g butter (salted or unsalted) or margarine margarine produces a lighter sponge
- 300 g caster or granulated sugar
- 5 medium or large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 300 g self-raising flour
- 4 tablespoons milk
- 325 g icing sugar
- 4-5 tablespoons water or enough for a thick, spreadable icing
- Sprinkles (either sugar strands or hundreds and thousands) to decorate
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C / 160°C / 350°F / Gas Mark 4. Line a 23cm x 30cm (9 x 13-inch) baking tin with baking parchment.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the softened butter/margarine with the sugar for about 2 minutes, until light and creamy. Add one egg, along with the vanilla extract, and a tablespoon of the flour. Mix well to incorporate, then repeat with the remaining eggs and the flour. Finally, add the milk and continue mixing to combine - don't over mix.
- Transfer the cake batter to the lined baking tin and smooth the top with the back of a spatula or spoon. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden, risen and a cake tester, when inserted into the centre of the cake, comes out clean without any uncooked batter remaining. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for about 10 minutes, then transport it to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
- Once the cake is cooled, prepare the icing. In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine the icing sugar with enough water to make a thick, spreadable icing - start adding a teaspoon of water and keep adding until you get the consistency you desire.
- Spread the icing over the top of the cake, then cover with a generous amount of sprinkles. Leave the icing to set, before slicing up into 12-16 squares. The cake will keep for up to 3 days stored at room temperature.