Inflation, the Trump tariffs, and the country’s general negative disposition have me a bit down. It is time for me to return to a simpler time, and what better way than with a nostalgic meal?

This idea started a few weeks back when the family was watching an episode of “The Great British Baking Show.” During that episode, the contestants had to make school lunch items, including “school cake.” School cake is a cake with simple white frosting, set in a pool of custard.

The cake was especially evocative for Julie, who spent a semester in England during her undergraduate days. She was housed in a dorm, and they often served school cake for dessert. She has talked about it ever since.

It would be interesting to combine her school-day favorite with one of mine, Sloppy Joes. Since I was going to make the combo for dinner. I decided to class it up just a bit by making the buns and the cake from scratch. However, I was completely uncertain about the custard, as I had tried to make some in the past and was told it was incorrect. Because of this, we found some Birds Original Custard powder at the World Market. I would use that mix for the custard sauce.

Naturally, it would be just fine to make this meal more simply by buying the buns and using a cake mix. However, I had the time, so I decided to go the homemade route.

Let’s go through the recipes!

Homemade Hamburger Buns

Recipe from Ourlittlebluehome.com

I made the dough in a bread maker using the dough setting.

I divided the dough into six pieces (I really could have done seven or eight) and formed each piece into a ball, which I placed on a greased cookie sheet. I slightly flattened the dough balls, covered them, and let them rise for 30 minutes. I then brushed each bun with egg wash. I baked the buns at 350°F (175 °C) for around 12-15 minutes until nicely browned.

Here are my buns. These were Will’s favorite part of the meal. I did an entire post on making hamburger buns on October 10th. You can find that post here: https://www.drmikekuna.com/2025/10/10/

Homemade Sloppy Joes

Don’t use the canned stuff. Making Sloppy Joes from scratch is super easy.

Recipe from NatashasKitchen.com

I’m using frozen ground beef from a year ago. However, because I vacuum-sealed it, the meat was as fresh as if I had bought it yesterday.

These are kid-friendly, simple ingredients. A small onion, 1/2 of a pepper (traditionally green, but this is what was in the fridge), and some garlic.

The sauce is equally simple: Tomato sauce, yellow mustard, a little brown sugar, and some Worcestershire sauce. Just mix it all up.

I’m using an electric Dutch oven, but you can use a pot on the stove or even a frying pan.

Brown the hamburger, then season it with salt and pepper. Add the garlic and cook for a minute, then add the chopped pepper and onion, and continue cooking for about 5 minutes. Add the sauce mixture and bring the mixture to a boil, then down to a simmer for around 15 minutes. That’s it!

I toasted the buns in a toaster oven and heaped on the meat. I’m serving today’s meal with chips, but I also recall having these sandwiches with fries and sometimes tater tots. The Sloppy Joes were my favorite part of the meal.

And now for the dessert. I had tried to make school cake once before, but I had no reference point. I simply guessed. Today, I used Dame Prue Leith’s recipe, modified to a smaller quantity by the bakers at theviewfromgreatisland.com. This is a much heavier cake; it is more like a flat pound cake, but it was delicious!

Cream the softened butter, then slowly add the sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Then add the vanilla and mix in.

Add the eggs one at a time, mixing between additions.

Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined

Pour into a greased 9 x 9 baking pan. The batter is very thick, and you will need to “maneuver” it into the corners of the pan.

Bake at 350°F (175 °C) for 22-30 minutes. Bake until lightly browned, and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Wait until the cake has cooled completely and frost it with the simple frosting listed above. Apparently, sprinkles are an important part of this recipe; naturally, I included them.

I wasn’t certain on the custard, so I went with Bird’s, a British brand.

Here is the school cake. The custard (per Julie) is supposed to be as thick as gravy and warm. The school cake was Julie’s favorite part of the dinner.

Tonight, we went down memory lane and had a delicious, economical dinner. Everyone liked it. I will definitely be making it again.

Nostalgia rules, at least it did today!

Mike