Preheat oven to 180 C fan forced (360 degrees F). Grease and flour a 9x13-inch baking pan.

Place flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium sized bowl. Mix together with a fork.

Place eggs in a large bowl and beat with an electric whisk or a stand mixer on high speed until lemon coloured.

Gradually add sugar, and continue beating until the mixture is thick, about 5 minutes.

Fold in the flour mixture using a spatula.

In a small microwave-safe bowl, warm up the milk till small bubbles form at the edge. Stir in the butter, and vanilla essence.

Add the milk and butter mixture to the batter, and lightly combine. This can be done with a spatula, or an electric whisk on low speed. Make sure you don’t overbeat.

Pour the batter into a prepared pan, and bake in a pre-heated oven until a toothpick or skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Let the sponge cake cool for a few minutes, and then take it out on a wire rack to cool completely.

This recipe makes a large cake – you will need about 75 – 80% for the trifle / ice box cake. The rest of the cake can be eaten (it’s delicious with a cup of tea), or you can make extra whipped cream, and make an additional small trifle / ice box cake.

Place cream in a large bowl and beat with an electric whisk till soft peaks form. Add sugar gradually and continue beating till stiff peaks are formed. Stir in vanilla essence, and set aside in the fridge to chill.

Once the cake has cooled use a serrated knife to cut off any domed edges from the top. Then cut the cake in half lengthwise. This will create a thin layer that can be used for the layering.

Take a rectangle glass serving dish (I used the Pyrex 4.5L rectangle dish) and place a layer of sponge cake at the bottom. Drizzle milk on the sponge cake, and then top off with half the whipped cream. Add ¾ cup mangoes, and ½ cup toasted coconut.

Top off with another layer of cake, and drizzle with more milk. Top with the remaining whipped cream and use a spatula to smoothen out the top. Keep in the fridge for at least 6 hours to soften, chill, and let the flavors develop together.

Take out the trifle 15 minutes before serving, and garnish with the remaining cubed mango, and toasted coconut. I prefer to do the final topping garnish in the end, so the coconut remains crispy, and the mango doesn’t get mushy.