Jam and Coconut Sponge Recipe

An epicurean adventure to: The United Kingdom

Take a sweet trip down memory lane with this classic Jam and Coconut sponge cake!

For those of you who grew up in 1980s Britain, this nostalgic cake is a direct ticket to the school dinner hall, where it was lovingly served by the no-nonsense yet warm-hearted school dinner ladies.

Our easy recipe for Jam and Coconut sponge produces a feather-light, moist vanilla traybake topped with raspberry jam and a sprinkle of desiccated coconut. Strawberry jam works too if that's more your vibe.

With easy step-by-step instructions and helpful photos, you'll be able to bake this crowd-pleasing cake with confidence, even if you're a novice.

It's a total crowd-pleaser and ideal for treating your old school chums who fancy a trip down memory lane. Give them a laugh by bringing this retro dessert to your next chinwag. Don't forget the pink custard!

So, if you find yourself longing for the good old days of school lunches, questionable fashion choices, Top of the Pops and SodaStream, then do yourself a favour and whip up this 80s classic.

This vanilla sponge also features in our classic Vanilla tray bake with buttercream and sprinkles and the luminously pink Tottenham cake.

Fast facts - United Kingdom

Location	The United Kingdom (UK) is located in North-western Europe, comprising four countries: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Capital	London.
Language	In addition to English and Welsh, the United Kingdom is home to a rich linguistic diversity with twelve other indigenous languages used including Gaelic, Cornish, Manx, Scots and three sign languages. English stands as the most widely spoken language, while Cornish is among the least commonly used.
Population	Circa 66.8 million people.
Trivia	Queue jumping is a major social faux pas in the UK. Brits are hardwired to form orderly queues and if you dare to break this unwritten rule, you'll find yourself on the receiving end of disapproval, often in the form of passive-aggressive tutting and exasperated harumphing from your fellow queuers. This behaviour isn't just about etiquette, it's practically a national pastime.

Key ingredient notes and substitutions

**Please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the full list of ingredients.

Eggs

You will need four large eggs at room temperature, each weighing about 62g with the shell on. Eggs a few grams over or under will still work fine.

Using room-temperature eggs is an important detail for making sponge cakes. When eggs are at room temperature, they blend into the batter more smoothly and uniformly. This helps the cake rise evenly and achieve a delicate, tender crumb.

To warm fridge-cold eggs quickly, place them in a bowl of warm water for about 5 minutes.

Sugar

Plain, white granulated sugar works well in this recipe. Caster sugar can also be used, but it is not essential.

Oil

Use a flavourless, neutral oil like vegetable or sunflower oil.

Oil offers advantages for sponge cakes over butter. Since it's liquid, oil keeps cakes moist over time without them drying out. Oil also prevents too much gluten development for a softer crumb. Its neutral taste allows the cake flavours to shine. Lastly, oil is more economical than butter.

Baking powder

You might be alarmed to see this cake needs one whole tablespoon of baking powder. That's correct. Please measure it carefully. Scoop a big heap and scrape the top with a butter knife to level it off.

Jam

Raspberry or strawberry jam are the traditional choices for this old-school sponge cake. For a smoother texture, use the seedless versions.

However, feel free to explore other jam varieties like apricot, blackberry or passionfruit if you're not fussed about keeping it retro.

Desiccated coconut

This is the finely shredded and dried flesh from a coconut, found in most baking aisles. It will be clearly marked as 'desiccated coconut' on the packet, not to be mistaken for 'coconut flakes'.

How to line a rectangular baking tin

Step-by-step guide:

Prepping

1. If the eggs are fridge-cold, remove them from the fridge approximately 30 minutes before you start to bake. Alternatively, place the eggs in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes to bring them to room temperature more quickly.

2. Heat the milk in the microwave or a small saucepan until it starts to simmer. Allow it to cool to a lukewarm temperature that you can insert a clean finger into without burning.

3. Line the baking tin with baking paper (see 'Equipment' above for the baking tin size).

Making the cake

4. Preheat the oven to 170℃/338℉/gas mark 3.

5. Add the granulated sugar, room-temperature eggs and vanilla extract to a large mixing bowl.

6. Using an electric hand mixer or stand mixer, beat the sugar, eggs and vanilla extract together until the mixture is thick, fluffy and very pale in colour. You should notice trails in the mixture left by the beaters. This will take a minimum of 5 minutes of beating.

7. In a separate bowl or jug, combine the oil and lukewarm milk. Whisk together with a fork until reasonably well blended.

8. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.

9. Add half of the sifted flour mixture to the eggs and sugar mixture and beat on a very low speed using an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer. Stop as soon as the dry ingredients have been incorporated.

10. Next, add half of the milk and oil mixture and beat again at a low speed. Stop as soon as the liquids have been incorporated.

11. Repeat these steps one more time for the remaining flour and liquid ingredients. Beat on low speed after each addition and be careful not to overbeat.

12. Pour the cake batter into the prepared tin and tap it gently on the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles.

13. Bake on the middle oven shelf for 35-40 minutes until the top of the golden brown cake springs back when touched and a tester inserted in the centre comes out clean. Test doneness at 35 minutes. If your oven runs hot, test earlier at 30 minutes or use a lower oven temperature to begin with.

14. Let the baked cake cool in the tin for at least 20 minutes before flipping it upside down onto a cooling rack.

15. Carefully peel off the parchment paper, paying extra attention to the corners where the cake might have baked into the folds of the paper.
    
    Note: We will decorate the cake on the bottom side, which is why we turned it upside down. This ensures a smoother and flatter surface for the jam.

Decorating the cake

16. With a palette knife or the back of a spoon, spread the seedless raspberry jam across the cake whilst it's still slightly warm. This will make spreading it easier.
    
    Don't worry too much if you get some crumbs in your jam, it will get covered with the desiccated coconut.

17. Sprinkle the top of the cake evenly with desiccated coconut. Add as much or as little as you wish.

18. Slice into squares and transfer to a serving plate. Enjoy your trip down memory lane!

Serving suggestions

• Traditionally, this old-school sponge cake is served with a helping of pink custard.
  
  You can easily make your own pink custard using a packet of strawberry or raspberry blancmange. Just follow the instructions on the back of the packet and serve it over the cake warm, before the blancmange has time to set. If you like really thin, pouring custard, just add a dash of extra milk.

• You can also serve this cake with plain, warm custard or with a dollop of ice cream.

Variations

• Skip the vanilla extract and add some grated lemon zest.

• Add other flavourings like almond essence, orange extract or orange zest.

• Use the recipe for the sponge cake but pair it with other buttercreams and icings like mascarpone cream or marshmallow fluff.

• Try a different fruity jam apart from raspberry and strawberry, such as apricot, blackberry or passionfruit jam.

• Turn this into an old-school sprinkle cake by making a thin icing with a splash of milk and icing sugar. Cover the iced sponge cake in a flourish of rainbow sprinkles.

Storage

Store the cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Keep it away from moisture and heat.

For longer storage, wrap the cooled cake tightly in plastic wrap, then foil and freeze it for up to 2 months.

Thaw the frozen cake slowly in the fridge overnight before decorating and serving.

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