Raspberry and coconut sponge recipe

I’ve spent the last few days wondering whether it is frivolous to give you a cake recipe at a time like this. But I’ve finally come to the conclusion that, actually, it’s probably more important than ever. Baking is a source of comfort and joy, both for those doing the baking, and for the recipients, and to willfully lose something like that when we face uncertainty and challenges, when many of our other sources of comfort and joy have been at least temporarily restricted, is sad. Having a simple cake recipe up your sleeve is reassuring – a taste of normality.

I’ve gone for a cake which relies on store cupboard staples, one which you might recognise from school dinners: raspberry and coconut traybake. It’s straightforward, and doesn’t require any fancy ingredients: it’s essentially a pound cake, made up of equal quantities butter, flour, eggs and sugar. It’s then decorated with simple long-life staples: jam and desiccated coconut.