Whether you loved school dinners or longed for packed lunches instead, there’s one canteen classic that was guaranteed to send ripples of excitement down the dinner line: school cake! Squares of fluffy sponge topped with thick white icing and colourful sprinkles, usually served with a decent dollop of custard, this pud was a top of the class school dinner winner!
Just because you’re all grown up now, it doesn’t mean that you can’t tuck into a taste of your childhood from time to time. Our simple, slimming-friendly school cake recipe lets you turn back the clock without undoing any of your weight loss progress.
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Slimming World school cake video
Slimming World school cake recipe
makes 16 squares
2½ Syns each
ready in 50 mins
What you need:
For the sponge:
low-calorie cooking spray
4 eggs, separated
4 level tbsp sweetener
1 tsp vanilla extract
150g self-raising flour
1 level tsp baking powder
For the topping:
100g extra-light plain soft cheese
100g plain quark
2 level tbsp icing sugar, sifted
a few drops of vanilla extract
2 level tsp sprinkles
What you do:
1. Preheat your oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4. Spray a 22 x 22cm cake tin with low-calorie cooking spray and line with greaseproof paper.
2. Put the egg yolks, sweetener and vanilla extract in a large bowl. Using an electric whisk, beat for 5 minutes until pale and slightly thickened.
3. In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gently fold into the egg yolk mixture. Sift the flour and baking powder into the bowl and gently fold into the eggs.
4. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden and firm. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out and leave to cool completely.
5. Make the topping. Put the soft cheese, quark, icing sugar and vanilla extract into a bowl and stir well. Whisk briefly to give a smooth consistency (take care not to over-beat or the mixture will be too loose), then spread evenly over the cake. Chill for 10 minutes, then scatter over the sprinkles. Cut into 16 squares to serve.
You should store your finished school cake in the fridge, where it will keep for up to three days.
Top tip: If you fancy a dollop of custard with your school cake, choose a low-fat version. Slimming World members can check the Syn value of their favourite brand using the barcode scanner or online food search tool.
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MORE FOR MEMBERS: Slimming World members have access to over 1,500 recipes on the member-exclusive website, including old-school favourites like crispy pancakes, stew and dumplings, steamed puddings and arctic roll!
Find out more about joining Slimming World here.
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