Easy Old Fashioned School Cake Recipe AKA 'The Ultimate Sprinkle Tray Bake' is ready to blast you back to the past with a super fun baking session. Strap in as it's about to make your kitchen the coolest classroom in town!
This does all sound a little cheesy but it's not called School Cake for nothing.
So, mix away those grown-up blues as you cream together this old school cake recipe. It's dripping with icing sugar, lots of sprinkles and you'll be making a treat that everyone will love!
Easy Old Fashioned School Cake Recipe is like a high-five to your inner child in every slice!
It's a cuddle in cake form, and a celebration of simple, happy days. So, wear your apron like a superhero cape, and let's get baking because school's back in session, and you're the headmaster of the kitchen!
This recipe was inspired by my other recipe and also pairs well with my amazing Strawberry Jam recipe.
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Ingredients
I didn't choose these ingredients by mistake but instead to make it the easiest cake to whip up at a moment's notice and one that's also an easy and fun cake to make with small people. I know that this was one of the first cakes my friends and I ever made so the nostalgia levels are strong with this one.
- Self-Raising flour
- Caster Sugar
- Baking Powder
- Salted butter
- Eggs
- Lemon Rind
- Lemon Juice
- Powdered Fondant icing
- Multi-coloured sprinkles
See recipe card below for quantities.
Instructions
Mix the dry ingredients together first to evenly distribute all raising agents and flour.
Use melted butter for ease and let the baking soda do the heavy lifting.
Don't over-mix the batter, just make sure it's all incorporated together.
I used a baking tray that is greased and lined for easy removal.
Hint: Remember, every slice of this old school sponge cake / classic school cake is a nod to childhood! But, it is also a very easy recipe to make with absolutely no mixing equipment as the melted butter makes it so easy to mix by hand.
Substitutions
- Vanilla - add vanilla extract instead of lemon zest for a vanilla sponge cake
- Chocolate Chips - stir some milk or dark chocolate chips into the batter before baking for a marbled, chocolaty cake.
- Buttercream - swap out the powdered icing for buttercream and transform the cake into something entirely more decadent.
Variations
- Add colour - use gel food colouring to add interest to the cake, especially if you're baking for a themed party. Pink icing goes down well for a Barbie-themed party for example.
- Bake in the round - using a round baking tin, cut the cake in half and you have an instant layer cake
- Go tiny! - cut the cake into even smaller pieces and serve up to 36 mini bites. Perfect for handing out at parties and events.
Equipment
Here's a full and detailed list of all the equipment I used for this recipe including links to purchase -
12x16 inch baking tray
Kitchen Aid stand mixer
Measuring spoon
Pallet Knife
Silicone spatula
Cooling rack
Cake sprinkles
Storage
Store any leftovers of this delicious recipe (there won't be much) in an airtight container at room temperature. This keeps the spongy cake moist and perfect for the next time you fancy a slice. Whether you enjoy for afternoon tea or as a sweet treat at primary school, this simple sprinkle cake, a twist on the classic school cake, is an easy recipe that brings back the sweetest of memories with every slice. Good for 3-4 days. I plate the cake and use this cake dome to keep it fresh!
Top tip
Mix your icing a lot thicker than you would normally to top this Easy Old Fashioned School Cake Recipe. You'll find that it won't drip off the cake if it's the right consistency. It will also set a lot better on top of the cake and won't look patchy when dry.
FAQ
My Easy Old Fashioned School Cake Recipe is a very simple bake and delicious concoction. Made simply of light sponge cake and, here's the fun part, topped with sugary icing and colourful cake sprinkles. The combination of all three of these things takes me back to my school days and it is still served today in many schools!
The term 'sponge cake' comes from the sponge-like openness of the crumb. The sponge cake was one of the first types of cake to be made without yeast. These original confections were closer to a type of biscuit than the sponge that we would recognise today. My Easy Old Fashioned School Cake Recipe is also considered to be a sponge cake of sorts as well.
My easy school cake recipe is an old school pudding and a staple of school lunch trays and is best served in squares. I serve with pink custard for a trip down memory lane. Reviving the bliss of school days (or not) with every bite.
If you'd like to see a video of me making the cake from scratch then your wish is my command...
📖 Recipe
Easy Old Fashioned School Cake Recipe (Sprinkle Tray Bake)
This easy cake, a staple of school lunch trays and birthday parties, is best served in squares, evoking cherished childhood memories. Pair this vanilla traybake with pink custard or hot custard for a trip down memory lane, reviving the bliss of school days with every bite.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 25
- Total Time: 35
- Yield: 16 1x
- Category: Cakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: English
Ingredients
- 400g self raising flour
- 400g caster suagr
- teaspoon baking powder
- 400g melted salted butter
- 8 medium eggs, whisked
- zest of three lemons
- 500g powdered fondant icing
- juice of one lemon
- cake sprinkles
Instructions
Follow the order of these instructions as they may for one of the best cake recipes.
- Preheat oven oven temperature to 200c
- Add the flour, sugar and baking powder to a large mixing bowl and mix well together.
- Add the melted butter to the dry ingredients along with the eggs and incorporate fully without over-mixing. You can easily do this by hand or using the paddle attachment if using a mixer.
- Zest three lemons and add the zest to the mixture, incorporate the zest into the batter.
- Grease and line a 12x16" baking tray with baking paper and pour the batter into the tray.
- Bake in the oven for 25mins or until a skewer comes out of the centre of the cake clean. Depending on your oven, if it looks like the top of the cake is baking too quickly and the centre is not then turn the oven down to 180c to finish off.
- Remove the cake from the oven and lift it out of the tray and onto the wire rack. Allow to cool completely before icing.
- You may want to straighten the edges of the cake and flatten the top by cutting the edges and levelling off the top. Use a long, sharp bread knife to do this if you think it necessary.
- Add the sifted icing sugar to a bowl along with the juice of one of the lemons and begin to mix. Add a little water, a few drops at a time until the icing has been completely mixed and pourable but remains thick, not watery.
- Starting in the centre of the cake, spread the icing across the top of the cake. Allowing it to spread to the edges but giving it a little nudge if it needs help getting there.
- When the icing has been applied to the top of the cake, distribute colourful sprinkles the cake sprinkles all over the top of the icing. Allow the icing to set for at least an hour before cutting into 12 square pieces.
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