Nostalgic desserts are all the rage right now! We have recreated the school dinner classic of a vanilla sponge topped with strawberry jam and desiccated coconut and it’s every bit as good as we remembered.
This easy traybake cake will transport you straight back to your school days. A vanilla sponge gets topped with jam and desiccated coconut, the perfect teatime treat!
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Yields:
20 serving(s)
Prep Time:
20 mins
Cook Time:
30 mins
Total Time:
50 mins
Cal/Serv:
270
Ingredients
250g
unsalted butter, softened, plus extra to grease
250g
caster sugar
5
medium eggs, lightly beaten
2tsp.
vanilla extract
275g
self-raising flour
1/2tsp.
baking powder
2Tbsp.
milk
350g
smooth strawberry jam2tbsp desiccated coconut
2Tbsp.
desiccated coconut
Directions
Step 1 Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C) mark 4. Lightly grease and line the base and sides of a 20.5 x 30.5cm straight-sided roasting tin with baking parchment.
Step 2 In a large bowl, using a handheld electric whisk, beat together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
Step 3Gradually beat in the eggs, adding a spoonful of flour if the mixture looks like it’s about to curdle. Add the vanilla extract and beat again to combine.
Step 4Using a large metal spoon, fold in the (remaining) flour, baking powder and milk until just combined. Scrape into the prepared roasting tin, smooth to level, and bake for 25-30min until golden, risen and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.4 Leave to cool in tin for 10min, then, using the paper to help, lift sponge out on to a wire rack and leave to cool completely.
Step 5Once cool, peel off baking parchment and transfer cake to a serving board. Stir jam with a spoon to slacken then spread on top of the sponge. Sprinkle over the desiccated coconut. Cut into pieces and serve.
To store:
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
