There’s something about Old School Cake that never leaves you.

Soft sponge. Thick icing. A generous shake of sprinkles. For many of us, it’s instantly linked to school dinners — the traybake you always hoped would appear behind the canteen counter, and the kind of treat that still feels just as satisfying with a cup of tea at home.

Now, McGhee’s has given the classic a new spin with the launch of Chocolate Old School Cake – keeping the recognisable look and feel of the original, while swapping in a soft chocolate sponge for a richer, more indulgent take on the nostalgic favourite.

A classic bake makes a comeback

Old School Cake is one of the UK’s most recognisable traybakes, and in recent years it’s had something of a revival. From online recipe swaps and nostalgia threads to debates about the “best version”, people across the UK have been rediscovering retro comfort bakes — and Old School Cake has firmly returned to the spotlight.

That renewed popularity has been reflected in McGhee’s own sales too.

Over the past year, McGhee’s production of Old School Cake has increased by 75% year on year, driven by strong demand and new supermarket listings, including Tesco (which launched the original Old School Cake in June last year) alongside Lidl.

At Tesco alone, weekly sales have grown steadily since launch – reaching peaks of double the initial launch levels in the run-up to Christmas, cementing Old School Cake as one of McGhee’s clear bestsellers.

Keeping it familiar – just a bit more indulgent

McGhee’s Chocolate Old School Cake builds on the success of the original, retaining everything customers love: the thick icing, the sprinkles, and that unmistakable Old School feel — but with a chocolate sponge that adds a more indulgent twist.

Russell McGhee, fourth-generation baker at McGhee’s, said:

“Old School Cake is one of those bakes that instantly takes people back. We’ve always had customers telling us they remember it from school dinners, or that it was the treat they hoped would be on the menu.

That connection is really important to us. We’ve been a family bakery for nearly 90 years, and a lot of what we do is about continuity — baking things people recognise and trust.

With the chocolate version, we wanted to keep everything people love about the original — that soft sponge and thick icing — but make it feel a bit more indulgent. It’s familiar, comforting and still very much an Old School Cake.”

Tesco has welcomed the latest launch as part of its continued partnership with the family bakery.

Barry O’Donnell, Local Sourcing Buying Manager at Tesco, said:

“We’re delighted to be working with McGhee’s to launch another product in Tesco and continue to build on our strong partnership. Old School Cake has proved popular with customers, and the new chocolate variant adds an extra sense of indulgence.”

Available now in Tesco