Vanilla Sprinkle School Cake

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This nostalgic Vanilla Sprinkle School Cake is a total throwback to school dinners and birthday parties – simple, sweet and utterly delicious! It’s the ultimate comfort bake with a soft and fluffy vanilla sponge, generous layer of sweet white glacè icing and a joyful scattering of sprinkles. Every slice is full of the warm and fragrant flavour of Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract, making it taste as good as you remember. It’s the kind of recipe that’s easy to make, lovely to share, and guaranteed to put a smile on everyone’s face.

This Vanilla Sprinkle School Cake is part of my Coffee Shop Classics recipe series – where I help you re-create your favourite coffee shop treats at home!

This recipe is created in partnership with Nielsen-Massey. I only recommend products and ingredients that I personally love, use and trust!

Your Ingredients List

Unsalted butter or margarine: I used margarine spread for this recipe because it gives the sponge a softer, fluffier texture. It’s also super convenient, you can use it straight from the fridge, and it’s much easier to cream with the sugar than butter.
Caster sugar: Sweetens the sponge and gives it a moist texture. Either white or golden caster sugar can be used.
Eggs: For this school cake recipe, you will use 4 medium eggs (or 3 large). Make sure the eggs are room temperature as this results in the fluffiest sponge.
Self-raising flour: Binds the mixture together and gives the cake a lovely rise. You can sub for plain flour if needed, just remember to add 2 teaspoons of baking powder to give the sponge lift.
Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract: What I love most about Nielsen-Massey’s vanilla extract is how fragrant, strong, and naturally delicious it is. It doesn’t have that synthetic aftertaste some others do, and just a little goes a long way in delivering a punchy vanilla flavour. I used their new single-serve sachets, which are super handy — each one contains exactly 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Just tear it open and pour it in. No mess, no measuring, and no extra washing up!
Icing sugar: Mixed with water to make a white glacé icing to pour on top of your school cake.
Sprinkles: Choose your favourite! Pastel strands, confetti sprinkles, or bright rainbow sprinkles like the ones I used.

Why You’ll Love This School Cake Recipe

FLAVOUR: Buttery sponge infused with the fragrant flavour of vanilla extract, topped with sweet icing. School cake is the kind of cake that keeps you wanting more and more!
TEXTURE: The sponge is so soft, light, and wonderfully tender, think fluffy clouds that just melt in your mouth. The icing adds a sticky, smooth contrast, while the sprinkles give you a subtle crunch in every bite.
EASE: Nice & Easy! School cake has three simple elements – the sponge, the icing and the sprinkles.
SERVES: This recipe uses a 20x24cm rectangular tin, serving 12 thick slices.

How To Make School Cake

Step 1: Make the Vanilla Sponge Mixture

Step one involved making the vanilla sponge cake. For school cake, the butter and sugar are creamed together first, then the remaining ingredients are added all at once and given a good mix until combined. This “all-in-one” method is commonly used by dinner ladies in school because the desserts are made in bulk, meaning speed matters! This method cuts down on prep time making it the perfect choice for big batches. Let’s dive into the steps:

Prep the tin: Line your baking tin with greaseproof paper, leaving an overhang on the sides to make lifting the cake out easier later.
Cream butter and sugar: Using an electric mixer, cream together the margarine (straight from the fridge) or room-temperature butter with the caster sugar until pale and fluffy.
Add the remaining ingredients: Add the eggs, self-raising flour, and Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract all at once.
Mix to combine: Beat everything together until smooth, creamy, and spoonable.

Step 2: Bake the School Cake

Here’s how to bake your school cake to perfection:

Transfer the mixture: Pour the batter into a lined rectangular tin, Spread it evenly right to the edges and smooth the top so it’s nice and level, no one wants a wonky cake!
Bake: Pop the tin in the oven and bake at 160°C fan for 40-45 minutes. Keep an eye on the cake as it bakes. The sponge should be golden, well risen, and spring back when you gently press the middle. Don’t be tempted to open the oven door until at least 30 minutes, otherwise the cake could sink!
Leave to cool: Once baked, leave the cake to cool completely in the tin before moving on to icing and decorating.

Step 3: Top with Icing

Once your sponge has completely cooled, it’s time to add the icing. Start by mixing the icing sugar with a little water, adding the liquid bit by bit until you achieve a thick, glossy consistency. The perfect icing should fall from your spatula in a smooth, continuous ribbon that holds its shape in the bowl. If it’s too thin, it will be runny leaving the sponge showing through and if it’s too thick it’ll be tricky to spread without dragging up crumbs.

Keep the cake in the tin while you add the icing as this helps it set neatly. Pour the icing over the top, then spread it carefully all the way to the edges for a clean, polished finish.

Step 4: Decorate With Sprinkles

Now it’s time for the fun part, the sprinkles! While the icing is still wet, add the sprinkles straight away so they stick nicely to the icing. Then, leave the cake to set for around 1 hour before lifting the cake out of the tin (use the greaseproof paper overhand to help) and slicing into those perfect squares.

The classic choice for school cake is hundreds and thousands, which gives that authentic, nostalgic look. But you can go with whatever you like! I’m a big fan of bright rainbow strands because the colours really pop, but confetti sprinkles would also work just as well. You could even switch things up with pastel shades for Easter, or orange and black sprinkles for a fun Halloween twist.

Recipe F&Q’s

What baking tin to use?

The perfect sized baking tin for this bake is 20x24cm, or something similar.

Why do I add the eggs, flour and vanilla together?

In classic school cake the eggs, flour, and vanilla are added all at once to the creamed butter and sugar. This “all-in-one” method is commonly used for school dinner-style traybakes as they are made in bulk, meaning speed matters! The all-in-one method cuts down on prep time – making it the perfect choice for big batches.

How do I fix icing that is too runny or too thick?

If your icing is too runny: Add more icing sugar, a spoonful at a time, and stir until it thickens up. You’re aiming for a consistency that’s thick enough to hold its shape but still smooth enough to spread. If your icing is too thick: Add a tiny splash of water (literally half a teaspoon at a time). Stir well before adding more, it’s surprising how little liquid you need to loosen it up.

When do I add the sprinkles?

The sprinkles are the finishing touch, once your icing is poured and still wet add the sprinkles to make sure they stick nicely.

How should this cake be stored?

Store this cake in a air tight container, at room temperature, for up to 5 days.

Vanilla Sprinkle School Cake

This nostalgic traybake is a total throwback to school dinners and birthday parties, simple, sweet and utterly delicious. It's the ultimate comfort bake: a signature soft and fluffy vanilla sponge, topped with sweet, sticky icing and a joyful scattering of sprinkles. Every slice is laced with the warm, fragrant flavour of Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract, making it taste as good as you remember. It’s the kind of recipe that’s easy to make, lovely to share, and guaranteed to put a smile on everyone’s face.

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Prep: 20

Cook: 35

Total: 55

Servings:

Ingredients

For the vanilla sponge:

250 grams Margarine or unsalted butter If you're using margarine use it cold straight from the fridge. If you're using butter, make sure it's at room temperature.
250 grams Caster sugar
250 grams Self-raising flour
4 medium Eggs room temperature
1 teaspoon Nielsen-Massy Vanilla Extract I used one single-serve sachet

For the icing and decoration:

250 grams Icing sugar
3-4 tablespoons Water
Sprinkles choose your favourite!

Instructions

Start by making the vanilla sponge:

Preheat the oven to 160°C fan / 180°C conventional. Line a 20x24cm (or similar size) baking tin with greaseproof paper.
Using an electric whisk, beat the margarine (or butter) and caster sugar together until light, fluffy and creamy.
250 grams Margarine or unsalted butter, 250 grams Caster sugar
Add the eggs, flour and vanilla. Beat until smooth and combined.
250 grams Self-raising flour, 4 medium Eggs, 1 teaspoon Nielsen-Massy Vanilla Extract
Spread the mixture into the baking tin and bake for 35-45 minutes until risen, golden on top and the middle of the sponge springs back when lightly pressed. If you know your oven runs hot, bake until the 35-minute mark. If your oven runs cool, bake for up to 45 minutes. Not sure? 40 minutes is a safe bet. Leave the cake to cool completely in the baking tin.

Add the icing and decoration:

Add the icing sugar into a mixing bowl. Add the water gradually, a tablespoon at a time, stirring until the icing is thick, smooth, and falls from the spatula in a ribbon-like stream.
250 grams Icing sugar, 3-4 tablespoons Water
Pour the icing over the cake and spread it to the edges.
Scatter the sprinkles on top. Leave the icing to set (around 30 minutes), then lift the cake out of the tin, slice and enjoy!
Sprinkles