My gluten free jam and coconut school dinner sponge cake recipe is full delicious nostalgia! (no time machine required) Oh and don’t forget the pink custard! It’s totally dairy free too.
I’m sure there are some parts of school dinner you’d rather forget but I’m sure you’ll agree that my gluten free jam and coconut school dinner sponge cake doesn’t fall into that category! Especially when there’s pink custard on the table too…
After so many of you loved my last gluten free school dinner sponge cake recipe, I knew there had to be a sequel.
(hopefully a sequel on par with The Empire Strikes back, not Mean Girls 2)
But to be honest, I never thought that anyone else would ever want to recreate what they used to have for school dinner. I thought it was just me who actually enjoyed some very specific parts of it!
So what else did I used to love from school dinner?
Not surprisingly, it’s a dessert yet again!
Yep, it’s a jam and coconut sponge cake – another traybake wonder.
Looking back on all this has wondered if school dinner started my love for cakes and baking… I mean, clearly I had a lot of cake at primary school. Not sure what Jamie Oliver would think about that these days.
But when I think about it, I’ve never really had this cake since school dinners and I’ve certainly never seen pink custard served anywhere else.
And I have no idea why not – I mean, just look at it – it’s bloody awesome and doesn’t care what anyone else thinks. “I’m pink custard. Deal with it.”
I mean, without dragging you into my time machine, I still remember waiting for the cook to bring us our dessert – yes, she actually brought our food to the table, is that weird?!
But while we were waiting we were trading Pokemon cards, Pogs, Tazos and trying not to let our Tamagotchis die.
(if it died, you had to then grab a pencil to press the button on the back to reset it – RIP)
Oh and how could I forget about my yo-yo?! I had an X-Brain if that means anything to anyone. No? Ok, I’ll quickly move on from this trip down memory lane.
Sorry – I got lost a bit there. Back to the recipe!
This cake is every bit as good as I remember. Sooo coconut-y with sweet strawberry jam, super soft sponge and lovely pink custard.
I can’t remember if there was coconut in the sponge, but I decided to add some into mine and it tastes exactly like the cake I loved.
I hope it brings back some happy memories for you, like it does for me! Here’s my gluten free jam and coconut school dinner sponge cake recipe…
My Gluten Free Jam and Coconut School Dinner Sponge Cake Recipe (dairy free)
Ingredients
For the sponge cake
- 390 g gluten free self raising flour
- 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
- 50 g desiccated coconut
- 400 g dairy free spread (butter at room temperature works if you don't need to be dairy free)
- 350 g caster sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 6 eggs
For the topping
- strawberry jam (you can choose whatever flavour you prefer)
- desiccated coconut
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 160C fan. Prepare a rectangular baking tin - mine is approx 32cm x 21.5cm. I grease the tin and then use baking paper - the baking paper should go over the edges so you can lift out the cake once it's cooled.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together your caster sugar and your dairy free spread (or butter). Cream until lighter and fluffy. I use an electric hand whisk.
- Gradually add your eggs and vanilla extract and whisk until combined
- Fold in the desiccated coconut, gluten free self raising flour and xanthan gum to the mixture (this is a big mixture so make sure you carefully fold all the flour in properly)
- Spoon/pour your mixture evenly into the baking tin. Place in the oven for about 60 minutes until fully cooked and golden.
- Leave to cool in the tin and then lift out, using the baking paper and place on a cooling rack.
- Once cooled spread your jam over the top of the sponge. (I always spoon my jam into a bowl first and mix it to smooth it out a bit as well as briefly putting in the microwave (30 seconds) - not to make it hot but to make it more spreadable)
- Then sprinkle your desiccated coconut on top of the jam. As much or as little as you like.
- Cut a thin strip off each side (but don't waste, they can be enjoyed!!). Then cut the sponge into squares.
- Enjoy as they are or serve up with some custard (pink!) for a nostalgic school dinner treat!
Thanks for reading how to make my gluten free jam and coconut school dinner sponge cake recipe! If you make it, I’d love to see how it turned out so don’t forget to take a snap of your dinner and tag me on Instagram!
Plus, I’m giving away a £50 supermarket voucher every month to my fave pic, so get cooking!
Any questions about the recipe? Please do let me know by following me Instagram and leaving me a comment!
Thanks for reading,
Becky xxx
Oh and don’t forget to pin this for later!
