Primary school
While thinking of different recipes that I could play around with at work, I start to reminisce about certain types of food I would have as a child. Be it the simplest thing like a crisp butty to things I still eat here like a good ol’ spaghetti bolognese, the list is endless. However, I started to remember the food I would have during primary school. One of these was the staple of desserts for every school child. The hundreds and thousands School dinner cake! Naturally, having this served with a gloopy custard was a must, and it was the best thing ever. This got me thinking, can I recreate this staple dish from my school memories? How could I not! The basics of the school dinner cake, which I will continue to now call Party cake (since this is not being served in a school!) is fairly simple.
At the core is a tasty, springy vanilla cake that you can optionally add some lemon zest for an extra kick. As for the topping, a delicious and easy icing with hundreds and thousands. This cake is super simple and will be a huge hit at any party. Children especially will love how colourful the Party cake is and is always the first food that is devoured. What’s great about this party cake is you can also change it from a vanilla cake to a chocolate cake by adding a little bit of cocoa powder!
Equipment I use
For me, the equipment I use to make this cake is, first of all, a large springform tin. Lining it with baking paper makes clean up easy. However, you can also grease the tin with butter and it works just as well. However, if you are creating this for a larger group, you can turn it into a traybake which is more traditional to the original school dinner cake. For this, I find the Excellent Tray set ideal. Deep enough to not have cake spilling over and large enough to create a whole lot of tasty cake. Plus you get some extra baking equipment! What makes this cake simple to make is that you only need a bowl and a spoon, no machines required!
From start to finish, this recipe takes about 40 minutes. The baking time is between 25 – 30 minutes, but I find that whenever I make this Party cake, it is perfect at the 28-minute mark. I would recommend keeping an eye on your cake once you reach the 25 minutes of baking time. The last thing you want is a burnt cake!
Another good piece of advice when it comes to this cake is making the icing process simple. I’ve done this many different ways, but I found that leaving the cake in the tin until it’s cooled completely makings icing it easy. It also means the icing won’t run away and will stay on top.
Ingredients
-
Cake batter
- Icing
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 160°C (325 F or Gas Mark 5)
- Grease and line cake tin/tray with baking paper. Set to the side.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until smooth and combined. Add eggs on at a time, mixing in each time to incorporate.
- Once all eggs have been added, add flour slowly and mix in well. Add the milk and the vanilla essence and mix until the cake mixture is smooth. (OPTIONAL: If adding anything extra, add this now and stir in).
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake tin/tray and smooth over so the mixture is even. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until the cake is golden. A toothpick comes out clean from the middle of the cake will let you know the cake is fully baked.
- Leave in the tin to cool completely.
- While cake is cooling, prepare the icing. In another bowl, mix the icing sugar with 2 tbsp of milk until fully combined. If the mixture needs to be thinner, add another tbsp of milk or two until you reach the desired consistency. (You don’t want it too thin, but not too thick either.)
- Once cake is cool, pour the icing mixture all over the cake, making sure no space is missed. While the icing is wet, sprinkle over the hundreds and thousands evenly. Set to the side until the icing has set. Once set, slice and enjoy!
Notes
You can also make this cake in a deep tray to change it to a more traditional traybake style!