Monday 10-Friday 14 November is National School Meals Week – the perfect time, then, to revisit your school days with this classic school dinner pud which eschews the traditional pink food colouring in the custard in favour of fresh raspberries, bringing it bang up-to-date.
Ingredients (serves 8)
225g softened butter
225g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
100g desiccated coconut
275g fresh (or defrosted frozen) raspberries
150g seedless raspberry jam
500ml fresh custard
Method
Preheat the oven to 180c/gas mark 4 and grease and line a rectangular baking tin (roughly 30cm x 20cm).
Beat the butter with the sugar until pale and fluffy (an electric whisk is your best friend here). Add the vanilla extract then beat the eggs in one at a time. Using a large metal spoon, fold the flour into the mixture followed by 75g of the desiccated coconut and 125g of the fresh raspberries, then spoon the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 30-35 minutes until golden and a skewer or sharp knife inserted into the centre comes out clean. Meanwhile, push the remaining 150g raspberries through a sieve into a bowl to create a purée.
Allow the cake to cool for about 5 minutes before lifting onto a cooling rack. Spread the raspberry jam over the top of the cake while it’s still warm and sprinkle with the remaining 25g of desiccated coconut.
Tip the custard into a pan, add the raspberry purée and gently warm, stirring constantly. Cut the cake into squares and serve smothered in the warm pink custard… and go to the top of the class!
Any leftover cake will store in a tin for up to 2 days.