Tottenham Cake Recipe

An epicurean adventure to: The United Kingdom

Rustle up a timeless British classic with this Tottenham cake recipe!

This lovely, single-layer traybake has been a teatime staple for over 100 years. Our easy recipe produces a feather-light, moist vanilla sponge topped with a gloriously cheerful pink icing made from either blueberries or raspberries.

Tottenham cake always makes a party spread more fun. Who can resist the sheer joy of a tender white sponge traybake capped with pretty pink icing? It's enough to brighten anyone's day!

Our easy step-by-step instructions, accompanied by photos, walk you through making the perfect soft sponge base. Simply follow the directions closely, from ingredient prep to bake times, to master this adaptable base recipe.

Once you have the method down, this light, versatile vanilla sponge will become a go-to cake for all your baking needs. Get creative by switching it up with different types of icing or decorations.

This vanilla sponge also features in our old-fashioned school cake recipe for Jam and coconut sponge and the classic Vanilla tray bake with buttercream and sprinkles.

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	In 1945, a substantial group of starlings perched upon the minute hand of St. Stephen's Tower, famously known as Big Ben, causing the clock to regress by 5 minutes.

A heart-warming history

Tottenham cake originated in the late 1800s and is tied to the history of its North London namesake.

It was developed by the Quakers, who were known in the area for their affordable treats for local children, which aligned with their ethos of equality and community care. The simple, inexpensive cake with natural mulberry icing was sold for just one penny a piece, or half that for the off-cuts.

Around the same time, the Tottenham Hotspur football club was also emerging. Local baker and Quaker Henry Chalkley created a scone-like version of the cake that was handed out to kids after Tottenham Hotspur won the 1901 FA Cup against Sheffield United (my husband, a Blades fan, is a bit sour about this tale!).

Over time, the cake evolved into the light sponge base and pink icing we recognise today. While ingredients and preparations changed, Tottenham cake remains connected to its humble beginnings as an accessible, unpretentious treat created to bring joy!

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.

Blueberries/food colouring

Traditionally, the icing for Tottenham cake was made using fruit from the mulberry tree on the grounds of the Tottenham Quaker house.

If you have access to mulberries, feel free to use them! You'll need the same amount as the blueberries listed in the recipe. Raspberries can also be used.

Alternatively, you can omit the fruit and opt for pink food colouring. Without berry juice, you can add milk or water to the icing sugar. About 5-6.5 tablespoons of liquid are needed, depending on how thick you want the icing to be.

Fresh lemon juice

In this recipe, we include 30ml of freshly squeezed lemon juice with the blueberries to create the fruit juice for the icing. You can substitute water for the lemon juice, but the lemon does provide a pleasant tang to balance the sweetness of the icing.

For reference, about half of a large lemon will yield approximately 30ml of juice.

Desiccated coconut (optional)

Adding desiccated coconut on top is a contemporary tradition rather than an original one, but it's definitely delicious! Vibrant, colourful sprinkles also create a visually appealing effect on the pink icing. Alternatively, you can choose to leave the icing plain if you prefer!

How to line a rectangular baking tin

How to make Tottenham Cake - Step-by-step

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).
   
   

4. If you are adding lemon zest to the cake batter, zest the lemon now.

Making the cake

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

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

7. 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.

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

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

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. If you're including lemon zest, add it at this point and beat it in briefly.

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

15. 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.

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

17. Carefully peel off the parchment paper, paying extra attention to the corners where the cake might have baked into the folds of the paper. Set the cake aside to cool fully while we make the icing.
    
    Note: We will frost the cake on the bottom side, which is why we turned it upside down. This ensures a smoother and flatter surface for icing.

Making the pink icing

18. Place the berries in a small bowl and pour the lemon juice or water over the top. Give it a quick stir.

19. Microwave the berries for 1 minute, stirring halfway through. If the berries are still quite firm, microwave for 15 seconds more.

20. Use a fork to mash and squash the berries to release their juice. 

21. Strain the berries through a sieve, reserving the juice and discarding the pulp.

22. Add the icing sugar to a large bowl. It's not necessary to sift it if your icing sugar is fresh and fluffy, but if it's lumpy, definitely sift it.

23. Start by adding about 3 tablespoons of the berry juice (or water) to the icing sugar and mix it through with a fork.

24. Add more liquid slowly until the icing reaches the thickness you prefer. It needs to be a thick but spreadable icing. Around six tablespoons of liquid usually do the trick.
    
    If you run out of berry juice, just add a splash of water to create more liquid.
    
    You can add a few drops of food colouring if you wish, but be careful not to turn it into a completely lurid pink icing!

25. Check if the cake has fully cooled down, then scoop the icing onto the surface of the cake.

26. Use an offset spatula, palette knife or the back of a spoon to spread the icing evenly across the top of the cooled cake, making sure to reach the corners and sides. If the icing is a bit runny, apply it slightly inward from the sides, as it tends to spread on its own.

27. You can now sprinkle some desiccated coconut or sprinkles over the top of the cake if you wish or leave it plain.

Variations

• Skip the lemon zest and just make a plain vanilla cake.

• 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. This is of course no longer a Tottenham cake though!

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, un-iced 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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